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WASHINGTON – A tight schedule awaits Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob when he arrives here today, ahead of a high-level meeting with US President Joe Biden and Asean leaders.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said Ismail Sabri will join Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris and other Asean leaders at the two-day Asean-US Special Summit, here starting Friday.
All Asean leaders are scheduled to participate in the special summit except those from the Philippines and Myanmar.
“I was made to understand that Myanmar’s representative was not invited while Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not be attending due to the ongoing general election in the country,” Saifuddin told the Malaysian media here.
It was reported that the Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing was not invited following the February 1 coup in that country last year.
President Biden will host a dinner for Asean leaders at the White House on Friday.
Biden is scheduled to exchange views on regional and global issues with Asean leaders at the US State Department on Saturday.
Saifuddin said this is the second Asean-US Special Summit hosted by a US president after the then-president Barack Obama welcomed Asean leaders in the country in 2016.
This special summit also marks the 45th anniversary of the Asean-US dialogue relationship, said Saifuddin.
He said Vice President Harris will also hold discussions with Asean leaders on a wide range of issues including health, maritime cooperation, climate change and clean energy on Saturday at the State Department.
“The prime minister will stress Asean’s centrality in Asean-US cooperation at the summit,” he said.
Saifuddin said Asean leaders are expected to raise at the meeting table, among other things, the region’s interests in trade, economy and technology.
The special summit is expected to issue a Joint Vision Statement which would underscore the commitment and aspiration to enhance Asean-US partnership in the interest of enduring peace, stability, security and shared prosperity for all at the end of the high-level meeting.
Asean, the southeast Asian bloc, consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Saifuddin said Ismail Sabri will also meet with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai here on Friday.
The prime minister will also take the opportunity to meet American captains of industry as well as the US-Asean Business Council and Chamber of Commerce here tomorrow.
Ismail Sabri is slated to meet Malaysian diaspora in a Hari Raya Aidilfitri Keluarga Malaysia gathering here on tomorrow. – Bernama, May 11, 2022