"US president's visit to Malaysia puts spotlight on Southeast Asian country's efforts to walk a fine line between great powers. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia When US President Donald Trump lands in Malaysia for Southeast Asia's headline summit this weekend, he will be delivering Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a diplomatic coup. US presidents rarely visit Malaysia, a multiracial nation of 35 million people sandwiched between Thailand and Singapore, which for decades has maintained a policy of not picking sides in rivalries between great powers."
"After skipping ASEAN summits in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Trump, whose disdain for multilateralism is renowned, will be attending the gathering of Southeast Asian nations for just the second time. The US president will be joined by a host of high-profile leaders from non-ASEAN countries, including Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Opting not to attend are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who Trump is expected to meet in South Korea at next week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit."
Malaysia is hosting an ASEAN summit and receiving a rare visit from US President Donald Trump, marking only the third US presidential trip to the country. The visit highlights Malaysia's effort to maintain a nonaligned stance while managing close economic ties with both the United States and China. The US is a major investor and was Malaysia's top foreign investor and third-largest trading partner in 2024. Numerous non-ASEAN leaders will attend the summit while some key figures, including India's and China's leaders, will not attend; Trump is expected to meet Xi Jinping at the forthcoming APEC summit.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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