Envoy Assures Malaysia Of US' Continued Engagement In Asia

By Jailani Hasan and Mohd Zulfadli Moksin LABUAN (Malaysia), Nov 16 (Bernama) -- It is important for Malaysia to recognise the just concluded US presidential election and give president-elect Donald Trump the space to assemble his presidential staff, US Acting Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D. Kagan said. “In my view, the new administration will continue to look for ways to strengthen and expand our engagement and relationship in the region (Asia). "How they do that, we have to be honest, we do not know exactly until they have identified their people and take oath of office. “We have to give president-elect Donald Trump space to identify his people, to start implementing policies," he told Bernama in an interview following his official introductory visit to Labuan Monday. Kagan said he was very confident that the fundamentals of the bilateral ties would not change, instead the ties would grow stronger due to their strong interest. "Hopefully, we'll continue to find more ways to expand our relationship to make it stronger," he said, adding that both countries had worked together to promote trade, economic growth, and peace and stability in the region, which were fundamentally in the US interest. Kagan said president-elect Trump had made it very clear that he had a great deal of respect on the importance of the US’ role in the world. "We need to give the president-elect space to start working. Asia is increasingly important to United States. Whether what you call the policy, US is very engaged in the Asia-Pacific region for over 70 years,” he said. As the US has very strong ties with many countries and alliances with a number of countries, he said it would continue to ensure stability in the region, help drive regional economic growth by promoting open market and trade. “I cannot imagine any president is going to be able to change the fundamentals, and that is quite opposite," he said. The US is Malaysia's the third largest export destination and their bilateral trade was worth US$50 billion in 2015, he said, adding that some American companies had invested in Malaysia for over 100 years. -- BERNAMA