SUBANG, Aug 26 – United States Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel left for Jakarta, Indonesia today after concluding his three-day visit to Malaysia.
The aircraft carrying Hagel and his delegation departed from the Royal Malaysian Air Force base here at about 10.10 this morning. On hand to bid them farewell were Deputy Defence Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri.
After his three-day stop in Malaysia, Hagel headed for Jakarta, Indonesia for a two-day visit (Aug 26-27).
From Jakarta, Hagel will go to Brunei Darussalam on Aug 27-29 for a gathering of defence ministers from Asean and other regional countries including China and India.
Hagel will conclude his trip in Manila on Aug 29-30 and return to Washington on Aug 30.
Reports said the Malaysian visit was at the invitation of Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein during their meeting at the 12th Asia Security Summit in Singapore last June.
During his visit, Hagel paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Hagel and Hishammuddin also held a meeting to discuss efforts to further improve multilateral ties between the two countries, especially in security cooperation.
Hagel took office as his country’s 24th defence secretary on Feb 27, becoming the first enlisted combat veteran to lead the US Department of Defence.
The last visit by a US defence secretary to Malaysia was by Robert Gates in 2010.
– BERNAMA
