IMF chief to call on Mahathir in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is here to attend the 33rd Asean Summit and other related summits, will meet with International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde who is scheduled to call on him today.

He is also scheduled to attend the second summit of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Mahathir and the other Asean leaders will also participate in the Asean Plus Three Summit; the East Asia Summit; and Asean Plus One Summits with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia as part of the 33rd Asean Summit.

The 16 RCEP countries’ trade pact leaders are expected to issue a joint statement on negotiations and submit the report by RCEP ministers to the leaders.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Eurasian Economic Commission and Asean on economic cooperation is also scheduled to take place.

In the evening, Mahathir is expected to attend a gala dinner hosted by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Mahathir is accompanied by his wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali; Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah; Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali and International Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Darell Leiking; as well as officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, Wisma Putra and Miti.

Other Asean leaders in town for the summit are Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam; Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia; President Joko Widodo of Indonesia; Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith of Laos; Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi; President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines; Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of Thailand and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam.

Among the leaders of key Asean partners gathered here are Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison; China’s Premier Li Keqiang; India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern; Russia’s President Vladimir Putin; South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and US Vice-President Michael Pence.

Also present are the Group of Seven chairman and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; incoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation chairman and Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera and IMF’s Lagarde, as a guest.