Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- The Indonesia volcano that threatened President Obama's visit is now "likely" to shorten an already brief stop to the capital city of Jakarta.
Obama arrived in Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood, on Tuesday for a two-day trip.
"It is wonderful to finally be back in Indonesia," said Obama. "I barely recognized it when I was driving down the streets".
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who earlier told reporters that officials were closely monitoring the ash cloud from Mount Merapi, said forecasting shows air traffic might again be disrupted.
Obama is scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono; attend an official dinner; and visit the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in southeast Asia.
Gibbs said the President still hopes to deliver a speech at the University of Indonesia.
"My sense is, our hope is that while we may have to truncate some of the morning we can get the speech in," Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight from New Delhi to Jakarta.
Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said earlier that Obama lived in Jakarta for several years as a boy.
In the university speech, "he'll have a chance to talk about the partnership that we're building with Indonesia ... [and]also to talk about some of the themes of democracy and development and our outreach to Muslim communities around the world, while also speaking of Indonesia's pluralism and tolerance as well," Rhodes said ahead of Obama's 10-day tour of Asia.
CNN
