Washington aims to strengthen ties with KL

Washington aims to strengthen ties with KL

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuter): U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, in Kuala Lumpur for talks expected to focus on Bosnia and American investment, said yesterday he aimed to strengthen ties "with this dynamic country".

"I have come to Malaysia today to strengthen the ties between the United States and this dynamic country," he said at a ceremony celebrating recent U.S.-Malaysian commercial deals.

"As Malaysia has grown, so have the dimensions of our partnership. Our expanding trade and investment links are bringing great benefits to both our nations.

"Our growing security relationship contributes to stability in the region. And our exchanges in education and research are significant and expanding."

Christopher was later due to meet Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whom he called "a leader of great vision and achievement", and American businessmen.

He also planned to attend the signing of a new extradition treaty that American officials said would allow both countries to "bring to justice a wider array of criminal offenders".

U.S.-Malaysian trade exceeds US$20 billion annually. Malaysia is the United States' 13th largest trading partner, while the United States is Malaysia's second largest trading partner and leading foreign investor.

Christopher had contacts with Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in recent days at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual conference in Brunei, where Badawi made impassioned comments about the war in Bosnia and United Nations failures there.

Bosnia, a major headache for Christopher during his 2 1/2 year tenure, was expected to come up again last night when Christopher attends a working dinner hosted by Badawi, U.S. officials said.

Malaysia, like many Moslem countries, is outraged the world has not done more to defend Bosnian Moslems, who have fewer heavy weapons than their Bosnian Serb rivals and have seen Bosnian Serbs capture more than 70 percent of the country.

Malaysia has troops among the UN peacekeepers in Bosnia.

Christopher, speaking with reporters in Brunei on Wednesday, said he was not surprised that Bosnia figured so prominently and passionately at the ASEAN meeting.

"I am never surprised when Bosnia follows me wherever I am. I certainly knew of the deep concern the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) feel about Bosnia. It's a concern all of us in the world feel about it. It's a dreadful situation. It's a horrific situation," he said.

As he did in his ASEAN meetings, Christopher noted that NATO and the Europeans have recently toughened their approach to Bosnia by threatening air strikes and deploying a more muscular rapid reaction force to help defend UN peacekeepers.

"We're all grasping for ways to deal with it (the crisis) effectively. The person who thinks he has a perfect solution to Bosnia is probably fooling himself because it is an impenetrable situation," Christopher said.

U.S.-Malaysian relations have improved during the Clinton administration, which has taken a more liberal view to the East Asian Economic Council (EAEC) pushed by Mahathir than the preceding Bush administration.

The Bush team saw the EAEC as a threat to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum backed by the United States.