KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State Government and the United States Government have always maintained good and cordial bilateral relations.
On a country-to-country level, Malaysia and the United States have established bilateral ties since 1957. The USA remains one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners and Malaysia is one of USA’s long-time and closest allies in military, investment, economic and education cooperation.
In another bilateral cooperation recently, the United States has donated 1 million doses of vaccines to Malaysia and has pledged additional COVID-19 type assistance to the Malaysian Red Crescent.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor expressed appreciation to the US
Ambassador to Malaysia, Brian D. Mcfeeters, during a virtual call on Monday.
“We are thankful for all assistance rendered by the United States of America to Malaysia and Sabah in the field of education, nature conservation and, most recently, in the COVID-
19 pandemic fight,” Hajiji said.
“The aid will further speed up our efforts in the fight against the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
Hajiji has also welcomed the ambassador’s pledge of USD1 million for Sabah’s wildlife
conservation efforts to complement the state’s ongoing programme in wildlife protection.
Mcfeeters also offered mutual cooperation in forest conservation, pointing to the Heart of
Borneo (HoB) programme, a transboundary conservation initiative extending into Brunei
Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Hajiji and Mcfeeters spoke on a wide range of issues including MA63, human trafficking,
illegal immigrants, and the US Embassy’s longstanding cooperation with University
Malaysia Sabah on counter terrorism and violent extremism.
Mcfeeters, who took office as US Ambassador to Malaysia in February this year, said he
looked forward to visit Sabah, a destination well known to many Americans for its natural
attractions and the iconic Mt Kinabalu.-pr/BNN
