US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during his confirmation hearing before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, on April 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump nominated Pompeo to replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. (Mark Wilson/AFP)
JAKARTA — United States Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will be visiting Indonesia over the weekend as part of his Southeast Asia visit starting on Wednesday.
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pompeo would travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; and Jakarta, Indonesia.
She said the visit would reinforce the US-Indonesia Strategic Partnership as the two countries look ahead to celebrating 70 years of bilateral diplomatic relations in 2019.
“The secretary will discuss advancing our shared security and bilateral trade and investment goals, affirm Asean centrality and highlight Indonesia’s leadership in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” she said in a statement.
In Kuala Lumpur, Pompeo will be meeting senior Malaysian officials, while in Singapore he will be attending the annual Asean-centered ministerial meetings including the Asean Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit Ministerial, the U.S.-Asean Ministerial and the Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial.
“The secretary will discuss our shared commitment to the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK [North Korea], upholding the rules-based order in the South China Sea, and countering terrorism,” Nauert said.