A key US Senator with power over trade deals announced Friday he will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam this month on a mission to reassure the world about the US economy.

Baucus, whose panel has jurisdiction over US international trade deals, said he would be looking for opportunities to expand US commerce with both countries in meetings with government officials and civil society leaders.

The senator’s December 13-20 trip will take him to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City, his office said.

US President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office January 20, has said he wants to polish the tarnished US image overseas and shore up the battered US economy.

“America needs to rebuild its economy and engage the world smartly on trade, in a way that creates good-paying jobs here at home,” said Baucus, who was slated to give speeches at Zayed University in Dubai and at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

Baucus said the US must strive to understand “boom economies” like the UAE, that relations with Vietnam must remain “strong,” and that he hoped to ensure that Asian markets “are as open as they should be to American products like beef,” a key export of his home state of Montana.

Source: AFP