Obama opens long-awaited visit to Malaysia

April 26, 2014 03:39 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 12:25 pm IST - KUALA LUMPUR

U.S. President Barack Obama waves from the doorway of Air Force One upon his arrival for his two-day state visit in Malaysia, at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang, Malaysia, on Saturday.

U.S. President Barack Obama waves from the doorway of Air Force One upon his arrival for his two-day state visit in Malaysia, at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang, Malaysia, on Saturday.

Opening the first visit to Malaysia by a U.S. president in nearly half a century, Barack Obama looked ahead Saturday to economic and security talks with Prime Minister Najib Razak, who leads a southeast Asian nation with an important role in efforts to forge deeper relations with Asia.

Stepping off his plane and onto a red carpet at the Royal Malaysian Air Base, Mr. Obama was whisked by limousine to Kuala Lumpur’s Parliament Square, where canon salutes rang out as Malaysia’s king and prime minister greeted Mr. Obama under muggy skies. A military band played the U.S. and Malaysian national anthems twice and Obama inspected an elaborate honor guard in crisp green and white before the arrival ceremony came to a close.

Mr. Obama’s next stop was the Istana Negara, the National Palace, for an audience with Malaysia’s royal family before he takes his seat on later Saturday at a state dinner being held in his honour.

During the two—day visit, which follows stops in Japan and South Korea, Mr. Obama will also meet with citizen leaders and hold a town hall—style forum with young leaders from across the region. But Obama rejected calls from human rights groups to meet with a prominent opposition leader while in Malaysia.

Ben Rhodes, Mr. Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said relations between the U.S. and Malaysia have blossomed in recent years and that the country has become a “pivotal state” in the Obama administration’s push to strengthen ties throughout the fast—growing and strategically important region.

Trade, defense and maritime security are among the issues Mr. Obama and Mr. Najib were expected to discuss during talks scheduled for Sunday.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.