SINGAPORE
US President Donald Trump will arrive in Malaysia on Sunday for a summit of Southeast Asian nations, a top official said Wednesday.
Malaysian Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed Trump’s attendance at the 47th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Bernama News reported.
“Confirmed—Donald Trump will arrive in Malaysia on Oct 26. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will announce any changes,” Fadzil told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia, as the current chair of ASEAN, will host ASEAN summits under the theme of “Inclusivity and Sustainability” between Sunday and Tuesday.
The bloc of 10 Southeast Asian nations, besides its internal meetings, will hold bloc-level summits with leaders of key dialogue partners, including the US, China, Japan, and India.
ASEAN, a regional bloc, was founded in Bangkok on Aug. 8, 1967. It currently includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Timor-Leste, or East Timor, is set to join the bloc as its 11th member in Kuala Lumpur.
In Kuala Lumpur, Trump is also expected to witness the signing of a peace pact between Cambodia and Thailand, which recently engaged in deadly border clashes.
Trump is embarking on a three-nation tour later this week, with the first stop in Malaysia, from where he will fly to Japan and later to South Korea to attend the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
In Tokyo, Trump, during his first trip to Japan in six years, will hold his first face-to-face talks with Japan’s first female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
