PM Najib arrives in Peru for APEC meet

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrived in Peru's capital this morning to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leader's Meeting.

The special aircraft ferrying Najib and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor touched down at Jorge Chavez International Airport at 8.27pm local time (9.27am Malaysia time, Saturday).

Najib was welcomed by Peru Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov 19 and 20, the main event for the APEC meet, will be attended by leaders of the 21 member economies.

The official welcoming ceremony for the leaders by Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will be held on Saturday at the Lima Convention Centre.

The programmes outlined for the leaders' meeting include an informal dialogue between APEC leaders and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as well as a dialogue between leaders and top APEC CEOs who form the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

Established in 1989, Apec is an economic, trade and investment forum among 21 Pacific Rim countries.

It is made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam.

On the sidelines, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be on the agenda as leaders of the pact's 12 signatory countries including Malaysia will meet to get a better picture on the initiative after the recent US presidential election.

Apart from attending the tight schedule planned for APEC leaders, Najib will hold bilateral talks with the prime ministers of Australia and Papua New Guinea on the sidelines of the APEC meet. -- Bernama