As US President Barack Obama gets ready to leave Washington on a four-nation maiden

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sojourn to Asia and then hosts Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his First State Dinner, top administration official today said these are attempts to renew America's alliance in the region.

"This is the fastest growing economic region in the world. It supports an extraordinary amount of US trade and jobs. It is also home to very critical political relationships to the US in our efforts to combat a series of global challenges," said Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications.

"So the President looks forward to this attempt to really renew America's alliances in the region, to continue to forge new partnerships, and to make progress on a whole series of issues," he told reporters during a teleconference briefing Obama's first four-nation Asia trip beginning on Thursday.

Obama is scheduled to travel to Japan, Singapore, N Korea and Beijing during his week-long trip to Asia – wherein he would be holding a series of meetings with Asian leaders.

The issues to dominate the agenda, Rhodes said, range from economic recovery agenda; Afghanistan, which are supported by several of its Asian partners; US efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, including its continued efforts in relation to North Korea and Iran; and also its effort to make progress on clean energy and combating climate change.