President Donald Trump told leaders at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Malaysia on Sunday he is “on a mission of friendship and goodwill and to deepen our ties of commerce” during his trip to Asia this week.
Trump attended the summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday evening Malaysian time, shortly after signing a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on October 26, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Trump is in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, and will next travel to Japan, en route to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)
He also signed trade deals with Manet and Ibrahim, as well as a critical minerals deal with Charnvirakul.
At the top of the ceremony, Trump took a family photo with ASEAN leaders and was welcomed with a band rendition of Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now,” which is the “Rocky” theme song.
Delivering remarks, Trump highlighted his efforts to deepen commerce ties with nations in the region.
“I’m here on a mission of friendship and goodwill and to deepen our ties of commerce, to strengthen our common security and to really promote strongly stability, prosperity and peace for all of the countries in this room and long beyond this room,” he said.
“That’s why I’m delighted that in addition to the agreement with Malaysia this week, we’re also signing or nearing completion on trade deals with many other Indo-Pacific partners, from Cambodia to Japan to South Korea,” he added, noting he and his administration are “delighted to forge richer partnerships on energy technology, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and other industries.”
Trump touted the enormous investment he has secured for the United States, forecasting, as he did last week in the Rose Garden, that America will eclipse $20 trillion in investment by the end of his first full year in office.
“There’s no country anywhere that’s ever done anything close to that. The United States, last year, for the four years it was announced, did less than $1 trillion, and we’re going to be doing over $20 [trillion]. That’s quite a difference,” he stressed.
“I’d like to just say the United States is… committed to a free and open and thriving Indo-Pacific. My message to the nations of Southeast Asia is that the United States is with you 100 percent and we intend to be a strong partner and friend for many generations to come,” he added.
The summit capped an eventful first day for Trump in Southeast Asia. On Monday, he sets out for Japan, where he will meet with its newly minted Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae on Tuesday morning local time, as the Japanese government reportedly weighs purchasing Ford F-150s from the United States—a move that would be monumental.
When asked about her reported plans on Sunday, Trump said, “She has good taste. That’s a hot truck.”
Trump will then head to South Korea on Wednesday for a meeting with President Lee Jae-Myung before a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Read the full article here
