ASEAN invites Putin, Malaysia joins BRICS, Jeju APEC splits

ASEAN invites Putin, Malaysia joins BRICS, Jeju APEC splits

President Putin invited to ASEAN summit, Malaysia joins BRICS led by China and Russia, formalizing checks on the US, APEC held in Jeju split.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced during a meeting with Russian President Putin in Moscow on the 14th that Malaysia, which is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, invited President Putin to the ASEAN summit in October.
Malaysian state-run Bernama News Agency reported on the 15th that “Prime Minister Anwar invited ASEAN countries to the East Asia Summit (EAS), which includes Japan, the US, China, and Russia.”  and invited President Putin to ASEAN.

The Yomiuri reported on the 15th that “Last year, Malaysia announced that it would begin the process of joining BRICS, which consists of China and Russia, and since then, it has been leaning more toward China and Russia,” and “The two countries have also discussed expanding trade and investment, and President Putin pointed out the importance of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, including oil, gas, and nuclear power.”
Malaysia’s Trade Minister said in an interview with Reuters in Jeju, where the APEC meeting was held, “I am more optimistic about tariff reduction negotiations with the United States,” adding, “We believe that we should ultimately reach an amicable agreement if we can show a win-win solution for both countries.”
Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the 15th at a meeting of trade ministers from the 21 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. He said he hopes to see “some kind of conclusion” before the 90-day moratorium announced by President Trump last month ends, citing a private agreement between Washington and Kuala Lumpur, and told Reuters that “the Kuala Lumpur government will raise issues related to key industries in the economy, including aerospace and semiconductors.”
Among Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia’s 24% tariff on U.S. goods was higher than the 17% tariff on the Philippines, but lower than the 32% tariff on Indonesia, 36% tariff on Thailand and 46% tariff on Vietnam.
The Jeju meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the first international trade meeting since the Trump administration’s tariff offensive, ended with “divisions over U.S. tariffs and World Trade Organization (WTO) reform making the adoption of a joint statement uncertain,” Reuters reported on the 16th, citing some diplomats.

The APEC Jeju meeting, chaired by South Korea, is the first major multilateral trade meeting since US President Trump announced a massive tariff on more than half of the 21 member countries, and the US minimum import tariff exceeded 10%, and USTR Greer attended late.

Reuters reported in Jeju that “the USTR also met with South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Motors,” and that “South Korea proposed to cooperate with the US in the shipbuilding sector as part of a potential trade deal.”

Reuters continued that “the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Cape Town in late February failed to adopt a joint statement after senior officials from several countries, including the US, skipped it,” and that “the Jeju meeting concluded with a ‘chairman’s summary’ released by the host country, South Korea, in which attendees ‘reiterated their commitment to resist protectionism’ and used several words that the Trump administration has strongly opposed.”