KUALA LUMPUR: The United States remains committed to maintaining a strong and strategic partnership with Malaysia, reinforced by President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the country during the 47th Asean Summit.
US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D. Kagan highlighted that the relationship between the United States and Malaysia has strengthened over time, with both nations deepening cooperation across a wide range of areas – from trade and investment to security and people-to-people ties.
“The US has been a strong partner to Malaysia since the first day of Malaysia’s independence, when it became the second country to recognise Malaysia’s independence,” he said this during an interview on Bernama TV’s The Nation titled “After the Asean Summit: What Trump’s Visit Means”, which was aired on Saturday.
He reaffirmed that the US has long stood by Malaysia and remains a vital economic partner through robust American investments and bilateral trade, while also serving as a strong security partner.
“We’ve seen the resurgence of popular support in Malaysia for the relationship (with the US),” he noted.
Kagan said there was also an incredible sense of warmth and receptivity in Malaysia during Trump’s maiden official visit to the country during the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits.
“One example of that if you just look at social media, there is an overwhelming majority of positive comments about the president and about the visit. And that is something I don’t think many people would have expected.
“Yes, of course, there are still some critics. But I think many of them were actually taken by surprise, taken aback by how overwhelmingly positive the response has been,” he said.
Trump is the third American president in history to visit Malaysia, after Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 and Barack Obama in 2014 and 2015.
Kagan noted that Trump’s visit was driven by several factors, including recognition of the Indo-Pacific region’s strategic importance to the US and that the country’s interest in strengthening engagement with Southeast Asia.
He added that Trump also visited Malaysia due to his focus on the Cambodia-Thailand border conflict and his acknowledgement of Malaysia’s pivotal role in facilitating dialogue and helping both sides move toward an agreement.
“He (President Trump) was so elated about the visit. I think you can see that not just in what he said to me … but also in what he continued to say in his subsequent stops in Japan and South Korea.
“He keeps talking about what a great visit he had, how much he got along with Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim), how happy he was to come to Malaysia, and how proud he is of the work we did together,” Kagan added.
At a ceremony held on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit on Oct 26, Cambodia and Thailand signed the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord, marking a formal step toward halting hostilities and restoring peace along their disputed border.
The agreement was signed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and his Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul, while Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Trump signed as witnesses.
