Outgoing United States ambassador Robert McCallum said here on Wednesday that he was confident the new Obama administration will continue its engagement with Australia and the Asia Pacific region.

In an address to the National Press Club, he said that he was certain the transition to a new administration holds no dangers for one of America's strongest allies.

As is tradition, McCallum will resign his diplomatic commission with the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

McCallum said the globalized nature of the biggest problems facing the world - climate change, terrorism, energy security - made it unfeasible.

"The facet of all of these global problems which jumps out at .. . (is) all of these issues are inter-related," he said.

With particular regard to its engagement with the Asia Pacific, McCallum said it was "most unlikely" the US would withdraw from the region.

He pointed to Senator Obama's nomination of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Susan Rice as the US ambassador to the United Nations as evidence of his commitment to global engagement.

"Both are very aware of the importance of international engagement and in the Asia pacific region, particularly so," McCallum said.

"For that reason alone I am willing to bet ... on continued active engagement of the new administration with Australia with the region and with multilateral fora, which address all of these issues," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2008)