Today's Edition
KUALA LAMPUR (AFP, REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump co-signed a ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia in Malaysia, the first stop on his Asia tour which will culminate in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The deal was signed by Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambdoian Prime Minister Hun Manet, together with Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
The expanded ceasefire deal builds on a truce reached three months ago, following a bloody border dispute between the Thailand and Cambodia in July that left 48 dead and temporarily displaced an estimated 300,000 people. The agreement will see the release of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war on humanitarian grounds, a press release from Cambodia's foreign ministry said.
Trump also signed an agreement with Cambodia on reciprocal trade, and a US deal with Thailand on critical minerals.
A White House official said Trump would also sign a critical minerals agreement with Malaysia during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.
On his way to Malaysia, Trump met Qatar's leaders -- among the guarantors of the Gaza ceasefire deal he spearheaded -- during a refuelling stop, and he is expected to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to improve ties with the leftist leader.
Meanwhile, US-China trade talks in the Malaysian capital entered a second day on Sunday, ahead of Trump's meeting with Xi in South Korea.
The US president will also visit Japan, on his first trip to Asia since returning to the White House in January in a blaze of tariffs and international dealmaking.
As he left Washington, Trump also added to speculation that he could meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time since 2019 while on the Korean peninsula, saying he was "open to it".
