Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung returned home Monday from a two-day trip to Malaysia, where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and outlined plans to bolster strategic cooperation and joint responses to transnational crimes.

According to Yonhap News Agency, during the South Korea-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Lee presented his new initiative to deepen the strategic partnership with ASEAN nations while reaffirming Seoul’s commitment to easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. At the ASEAN-plus-three summit, attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Lee called for broader regional cooperation to better respond to trade protectionism and shifting global supply chains.

On the sidelines, Lee held a summit with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and agreed to establish a joint task force between the two nations’ law enforcement agencies to investigate online scams and other crimes targeting South Koreans. He also held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on ways to expand economic cooperation, which led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding on defense industry cooperation between the two governments.

Lee’s Malaysia visit kicks off a packed week of diplomacy ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the southeastern city of Gyeongju. This year’s APEC gathering is drawing major attention as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold a high-stakes summit amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.