Malaysia delays pre-APEC meetings, says committed to hold summit

Malaysia has postponed a series of pre-APEC summit meetings that were to be held this month and the next because of the coronavirus outbreak, it said on Tuesday, but added it remained committed to hosting the summit expected towards end-2020.

The southeast Asian country said the decision to delay the meetings, some of which was to start on Tuesday, was taken after consulting with all the stakeholders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group. Some of the meetings could now happen in June, Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) said in a statement.

This year's APEC summit, which brings together leaders of the 21 member economies, is expected to be held in November. "Malaysia remains fully committed to hosting APEC in 2020," MITI said. "Malaysia will also intensify efforts to ensure that there is continuity in the work undertaken by APEC, for this year and beyond."

Malaysia, which has the highest number of coronavirus cases in southeast Asia at more than 500, will impose two-week movement restrictions starting Wednesday in a bid to contain the contagion.