Obama urges unity at APEC welcome luau

President Obama welcomed participants in the APEC summit to Hawaii Saturday, telling his guests they had different agendas but common goals for the meeting. Obama raised a toast at a Waikiki hotel luau and said the Pacific Rim nations had much in common and could benefit from cooperation on trade. "Whatever our differences, our citizens have sent us here with a common task: to bring our economies closer together, to cooperate, to create jobs and prosperity that our people deserve so that they can provide for their families, so that they can give their children a better future," Obama said in his welcoming remarks. Obama said Hawaii's cultural melting pot served as a good example for the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders who will be focusing largely on trade and other economic matters. "We've learned that we're more likely to realize our aspirations when we pursue them together," Obama said. "That's the spirit of Hawaii." Saturday's welcoming luau wasn't a typical Hawaiian celebration, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser noted, because the president and other leaders wore business attire rather than the usual aloha shirts.