McFeeters said US President Joe Biden had spoken of the need to work closely with its global allies to tackle challenges faced worldwide, from health and economy to human trafficking and climate change.

“We are stronger when we work together. I look forward to leading a team that works with Malaysia in many areas, including fostering mutually beneficial security cooperation; further strengthening economic ties that support tens of thousands of jobs in both Malaysia and the United States; and building more people-to-people ties.

“I know that we have a lot of work to do towards finally defeating Covid-19, but we are on that road together,” he said in a statement today.

This will be McFeeters second time serving in Malaysia, having worked as a political counsellor at the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur from 2009 to 2011.