(VOVworld) – US President Barack Obama has shortened his trip to Asia, eliminating visits to Malaysia and the Philippines because of the government shutdown.

President Barack Obama delays trips to Malaysia and Philippines because of the government shutdown (Source: Reuters)

US Secretary of State John Kerry will lead delegations to both of these Southeast Asian countries in place of the president. Obama was scheduled to visit 4 Southeast Asian countries- Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines, for high-level talks on economics and security.

In another development, the US Congress continued to fail in budget negotiations. On Wednesday, President Obama worked with leaders of the two parties at the White House to shape a budget plan and a plan to raise the federal debt ceiling to 16,700 billion USD which must happen before the middle of this month. The meeting achieved no progress and no sign of reopening federal agencies which have closed down. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Obama said he had urged the Government leaders to raise the debt ceiling prior to October 17^th to prevent needless damage to the economic recovery. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner said any budget plan approved to put an end to the closure of the agencies must include anti-Obamacare terms.