The State Department says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to visit Japan, South Korea, China and Indonesia when she makes her first overseas trip later this month.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood says Clinton's trip to the region, which starts on February 15, is a sign of the importance President Barack Obama's administration places on relations with Asia.
Wood says the global financial crisis and efforts to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program will top her agenda in Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing.
He adds that Clinton has chosen to visit Indonesia on her first overseas trip because she wants to reach out to the Muslim world.
Wood noted that Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country. In his inauguration speech, Mr. Obama pledged to seek a new way forward with the Muslim world.
Beijing will be Clinton's final stop on her week-long trip to Asia.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP
