US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, local media reported. This marks Rubio's first visit to the region since he assumed office earlier this year, the state-run Bernama news agency reported.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Malaysia to meet top government officials and attend meetings in Kuala Lumpur with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). His visit comes days after Trump announced steep tariffs on Malaysia and several other regional partners.

Malaysia is optimistic it can reach a deal with the US to lower tariffs ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline for trade talks after President Donald Trump threatened to impose a steeper levy on the Southeast Asian country,

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Malaysia this week to attend a high-level ASEAN meeting, marking his first official visit to the Indo-Pacific region. The trip, scheduled for July 8 to 12,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will make his first trip to Asia since taking up his post, traveling this week to Malaysia for meetings with ASEAN allies.