US President Donald Trump today praised Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for what he said was an excellent job in carrying out Malaysia’s role as country coordinator for Asean-US dialogue relations.

In his brief remark at the Asean-US 40th anniversary commemorative summit in Manila, Philippines, Trump said Najib did well to carry out the task.

"I also want to thank Prime Minister Najib for the excellent job you have done as coordinator. I appreciate it very much… I really appreciate it, you did coordinate very well with us," he said.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman had told Malaysian media on Saturday that Najib, as country coordinator for dialogue relations for the period 2015 - 2018, would present a report on the significant progress made throughout the past 40 years and the future direction.

Both sides are also expected to discuss regional and international issues of common concern such as the South China Sea, Korean Peninsula, Counter-Terrorism and Violent Extremism and Cyber Digital Economy, at the summit.

During the Asean Summit in 2015, regional leaders and then US President Barack Obama, who attended the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, adopted the Plan of Action to implement five priority areas of cooperation – economic integration, maritime cooperation, transnational challenges including climate change, emerging leaders and women’s opportunities.

- Bernama