00:00Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim welcomed foreign ministers from ASEAN countries,
00:09as well as the bloc's secretary-general in Kuala Lumpur, at a courtesy call on Wednesday.
00:14All member countries except Myanmar were present at the call,
00:18ahead of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Minister's Meeting, held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.
00:24On the agenda for the three-day meeting are U.S. tariffs and the situation in Gaza,
00:30along with regional issues such as the ongoing conflict in Myanmar.
00:34The meeting started on Wednesday and will conclude on Friday.
00:38China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov are expected to join the meetings,
00:44as will U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who makes his first trip to Asia,
00:49looking to smooth over relations with allies and partners, rattled by President Donald Trump's tariff strategy.
00:57Trump on Monday announced hefty levies of between 25% and 40% on six Southeast Asian countries,
01:05despite concerted efforts by some to offer broad concessions and negotiate lower rates.
01:10The export-reliant ASEAN is collectively the world's fifth-biggest economy,
01:15with some members beneficiaries of supply chain realignments, from China.
01:20Only Vietnam has secured a deal, which lowers the levy to 20% from 46% initially.
01:28Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia said they would seek further talks ahead of the tariff implementation on August 1st.
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