Malaysia’s value as supplier proven in pandemic, says US envoy

 

US ambassador Brian McFeeters said many American factories depend directly on something made in Malaysia. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns taught companies in the United States about Malaysia’s importance in the global supply chain, says US ambassador Brian McFeeters.

McFeeters said this is evidenced by how US firms have made investment pledges worth some RM100 billion in total in various sectors here over the past 18 months.

“US investments are really coming strong into Malaysia and that is good for the US, because we found out during the Covid-19 pandemic that Malaysia is a key part of the world’s supply chain.

“A lot of US factories are depending directly on something made in Malaysia, so we have a mutually beneficial economic relationship that has been developed to this day,” he said, according to Bernama.

McFeeters said the US is looking to strengthen its presence in sectors like electronics and semiconductors, adding that most US companies have benefitted from the technologies produced by Malaysia after investing here.

He also said Malaysia has played a key role in promoting economic integration within Southeast Asia, citing the agreement to host the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiations in October as an example.

This round of negotiations to discuss ways to establish a “clean” economy with renewable energy will also look into improving the supply chain to avoid “breakdowns” like what happened during Covid-19, he said.

The agreement is particularly important because the US is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in November, where the results of the discussions will be announced.

“Hopefully, Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim) will be there because Malaysia is playing a very big part in hosting the negotiation,” he said. - FMT