US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday met Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday before leaving for Singapore to attend a summit of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Pompeo, who arrived in Malaysia on Thursday night, visited Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya and congratulated the 93-year-old leader for his surprise victory in the elections held in May, reports Efe news.
Pompeo and Mahathir discussed a number of issues of mutual interest, according to a statement by the Malaysian government.
The US and Malaysia established diplomatic ties in 1957, when the latter became independent from British rule and strengthened them in 2014 by signing a partnership agreement.
After meeting Mahathir, Pompeo will leave for Singapore, the second stop of his Southeast Asia tour, where he will attend the Asean meeting, coinciding with the visit of a North Korean delegation, headed by his counterpart Ri Yong-ho.
On Thursday, the Asean foreign ministers urged the two Koreas, the US and other parties to sustain efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and establish lasting peace.
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Asean consists of Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which have a joint population of around 630 million.
--IANS
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