Washington: US President Donald Trump arrived in Malaysia Saturday, beginning the first of three stops on the first Asia trip of his second term.
After nearly 24 hours of travel with two refuelling stops, Air Force One was wheels down in Kuala Lumpur just before 10 a.m. local time Sunday.
Trump said he is making the stop in Kuala Lumpur to thank Anwar for his country’s involvement in helping to end the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia.
A red carpet has been set upon the tarmac, and moments from now, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will welcome Trump with a formal arrival ceremony, offering the President the pomp and circumstance he enjoys.
Malaysia is hosting the ASEAN Summit, a gathering of South Asian leaders.
“Malaysia helped us. One of the reasons I’m going to Malaysia is they were very, very much involved in the whole thing — Thailand and all,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
He added: “I told the leader of Malaysia, who’s a very good man, I said, ‘I think I owe you a trip,’ and that’s why we’re stopping in Malaysia.”
Trump is expected to join leaders from Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand to sign the peace deal later Saturday.
Trump will lean on the power of in-person diplomacy on the first Asia trip of his second term as he meets with old rivals, new friends and, potentially, adversaries, while looking to cut deals that could have sweeping economic and national security implications.
But Trump’s love of tariffs, just like his unpredictable approach to relationships abroad, has generated uncertainty among once-solid US allies in the region, setting up a major test of whether the “Art of the Deal” author can deliver.
Trump arrives in Malaysia late Saturday (Sunday morning local time) for a six-day, three-country tour after having reimagined the role of the US in the world, a role he’s trying to defend against the rising influence of China, in particular, around the globe.
The “America First” President touts what he says are Trump-brokered ends to eight wars, including a fragile ceasefire for the Israel-Hamas conflict, and uses his tariff policy as leverage.
And he has said that the conflict whose resolution has been most elusive, Russia’s war in Ukraine, will be on the agenda during the highest-stakes meeting of the trip, with Xi Jinping, the leader of China, with whom the US is embroiled in a simmering trade war.
Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, Trump will sign a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand, the President said Saturday.
