WASHINGTON: Today’s meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and President Barack Obama is set to open a new vista on relations between Malaysia and the United States.

The meeting will determine the direction the bilateral relations will take, said Malaysian acting Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

Dr Rais, who is Information Communication and Culture Minister, said Najib and Obama were expected to discuss several important matters, including bilateral ties and Malaysia’s role in the Islamic world.

Also expected to be raised at their talks are the Strategic Trade Bill 2010 which was passed by the Dewan Rakyat last week as well as issues related to security in the Asian region, he added.

“As we can see, this is the first time that our prime minister will be having candid bilateral talks with the US president, and these issues will determine the pattern and future of relations between the two countries,” Dr Rais told Malaysian journalists after a pre-council meeting with Najib who arrived here Saturday for a week-long working visit.

The Strategic Trade Bill 2010, which took almost five years to be drafted, will enable Malaysia to play its role as a member of the United Nations to prevent proliferation of weapons.

Najib is one of only two leaders from Asia who will have discussions with Obama before the two-day Nuclear Security Summit of 48 world leaders here to discuss Obama’s initiative to confront the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Obama is also scheduled to have talks with President Hu Jintao of China.

Dr Rais, who has held the post of foreign minister before, expressed confidence that relations between Malaysia and the United States were at a new level under the leadership of Najib, the sixth prime minister of Malaysia.

“At this point, I can say that what is happening following the opportunity presented to our prime minister is that this represents a new vista, something which did not exist in the history of bilateral relations between Malaysia and the United States.

“I am convinced that relations between the two countries will open a new vista or window, associated not only with matters of international politics, but also business and the question of Guantanamo (detention camp) where two Malaysian citizens are also being held,” Dr Rais said.

Najib had raised the issue of the detention of the two Malaysians, Mohd Farik Amin and Mohammed Nazir Lep, when Obama telephoned him in June last year to discuss current issues. Malaysia wants the two detainees, who are among 250 foreigners held in Guantanamo, to be repatriated home to be tried in Malaysia.

They were detained for alleged involvement in the militant Jemaah Islamiah and al-Qaeda groups since 2003.

Dr Rais said America would also probably see Malaysia as a country which has some status in the Islamic world, and added that this might also be a topic of the discussions between Najib and Obama. — Bernama