Timor-Leste PM touches down in Malaysia for 47th Asean Summit

SEPANG: Timor-Leste Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão arrived in Malaysia at 12.30pm on Friday (Oct 24) ahead of the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits.

The special aircraft carrying the prime minister and his delegation landed at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), where Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil received them.

Gusmão then inspected a guard of honour comprising two officers and 26 personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment, led by Captain Mohd Masrur Hidayat Masri.

Malaysia, as Asean Chair this year under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability", will host the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur from Sunday to Monday.

The event will also see Timor-Leste's accession as Asean's 11th member, expected to be formalised on Sunday.

Expected to be the largest Asean gathering since its inception in 1967, the 47th edition of the summit will welcome global leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This marks Malaysia's fifth time chairing Asean since 1967, following its previous terms in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015. - Bernama