Trump, Anwar To Witness Malaysia-US Trade Pact Signing – Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- United States President Donald Trump and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim are keen to witness the signing of a reciprocal trade agreement between their countries during Malaysia’s chairmanship of the 47th ASEAN Summit here in late October.

Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz told Bernama on Friday that Trump had conveyed his desire to witness the signing of the pact to US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.

Greer revealed this to Tengku Zafrul during their bilateral meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of the 57th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting and related meetings.

Anwar also expressed on his social media platform on Thursday, that he hoped negotiations could be concluded, with the deal being signed soon.

Emphasising the strategic importance of finalising the ongoing Reciprocal Trade Agreement with the U.S., the Prime Minister said it would help guide policy and business planning for both countries.

Tengku Zafrul said in an exclusive interview at the AEM that both countries had agreed on the key fundamentals and were finalising the wording of the agreement.

“This morning, our team was also negotiating with US officials. We have agreed on the key fundamentals, which we announced recently. All the issues are resolved. Now it is just about preparing the agreement.”

“So, we are committed to that and have been working towards the deadline. I had a bilateral with Greer yesterday and a one-on-one meeting the day before, where we all agreed to try and resolve the wording of the agreement quickly,” he said.

The minister said this was crucial so that Malaysia and the U.S. could conclude and sign the agreement when both leaders meet during the ASEAN Summit, most likely in late October.

On Sept 9, Anwar, who is the current chair of ASEAN, confirmed Trump will visit Malaysia next month in conjunction with the 47th ASEAN Summit.

Next month’s ASEAN Summit also marks the fifth time Malaysia is holding the chairmanship, after previously doing so in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.
-- BERNAMA