Clinton makes historic Laos visit

on 11/07/2012 07:11:33

Hillary Clinton is making an historic visit to Laos, the first by a US secretary of state in more than five decades.

Mrs Clinton arrived in the country as part of a week of diplomacy aimed at bolstering America's standing in Asia.

The Obama administration has been trying to reorient US foreign policy toward Asia's booming markets after more than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mrs Clinton is meeting with the communist government's prime minister and foreign minister.

They will discuss commercial opportunities and joint efforts to clean up the tens of millions of unexploded bombs the US dropped on Laos during the Vietnam war.