US President Donald Trump will visit Malaysia on Oct 26, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said on Tuesday, adding that he is “looking forward” to witnessing a ceasefire deal between Southeast Asian neighbours Thailand and Cambodia.
undemarcated points on the two nations’ 817km land border erupted into a deadly five-day conflict in July, killing at least 48 and temporarily displacing hundreds of thousands in their worst fighting in more than a decade.
“During the summit, we hope to see the signing of a declaration, known as the Kuala Lumpur Accord, between these two neighbours to ensure peace and a lasting ceasefire,” Mohamad, who is also known as Tok Mat or Mat Hasan, told the media.
He was referring to a meeting of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping set to run from Oct 26 to 28 here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said Trump will attend the meetings but there has been no official confirmation yet from Washington.
Malaysia is the chair of Asean this year.
The country brokered an initial ceasefire on July 28 that ended the clashes after a sustained peace push by Anwar and telephone calls by Trump to leaders of both nations.
Malaysia and the US will facilitate a broader ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, which will require both sides to remove all mines and heavy artillery from their borders, Mohamad said.
On Sunday, the Thai Foreign Ministry said the foreign ministers of both countries met in Kuala Lumpur over the weekend to discuss the ceasefire, with US and Malaysian officials present.
The East Asia Summit, to be held during this month’s Asean meeting, will issue a chairman’s statement, rather than a joint statement, as the US had objected to use of the word “inclusivity”, Mohamad added, without elaborating.
Leaders of all 10 members of the grouping and trading partners, such as China, Japan, Russia and the US, will attend the summit.
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