Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah rejected on Thursday US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's suggestion that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in January be held in the United States now that Chile had pulled out of its hosting role
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th November, 2019) Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah rejected on Thursday US State Secretary Mike Pompeo's suggestion that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in January be held in the United States now that Chile had pulled out of its hosting role.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera canceled the 2-day summit, scheduled to start on November 16, last week amid ongoing protests in the South American country.
Abdullah said Pompeo had called him while in Bangkok to ask for Malaysia's stance on hosting the event.
"The US is thinking of hosting APEC somewhere in January in the US but I have informed the American officials while they were in Bangkok that we don't think it is a good idea," Abdullah told reporters, as quoted by The Star news outlet.
The foreign minister did not provide details as to why he rejected the proposal.
Malaysia is due to host next year's APEC summit.
APEC is a regional economic forum that aims to strengthen regional economic integration among its 21 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
