WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama will visit Asia in April after a government shutdown caused him to call off a trip last month, his national security adviser Susan Rice said on Wednesday.

"I am pleased to announce today that President Obama will return to Asia this coming April to continue to strengthen our ties," Ms Rice said at Georgetown University.

Ms Rice did not specify where Mr Obama will go. His cancelled trip would have taken him to summits in Indonesia and Brunei as well as to Malaysia and the Philippines.