In a statement today, Hajiji referred to the virtual call with US Ambassador to Malaysia Brian D McFeeters yesterday, and said the aid provided would speed up their efforts against the challenges posed by Covid-19.

“We are thankful for all assistance rendered by the US to Malaysia and Sabah in the field of education, nature conservation and, most recently, in the fight against Covid-19,” he said.

Hajiji also welcomed the ambassador’s pledge of US$1 million (RM4.2 million) for Sabah’s wildlife conservation efforts to complement the state’s ongoing programme in wildlife protection.

In another bilateral cooperation recently, the US donated one million doses of vaccines to Malaysia and pledged additional Covid-19 type assistance to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society.

The Sabah government and the US have always maintained good and cordial bilateral relations.

On a country-to-country level, Malaysia and the US have established bilateral ties since 1957.

The country remains one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners while Malaysia is one of the US’ long-time and closest allies in military, investment, economic and education collaboration.

Hajiji and McFeeters also spoke on a wide range of issues including the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), human trafficking, undocumented migrants, and the US embassy’s longstanding cooperation with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on counter-terrorism and violent extremism.

Meanwhile, McFeeters also offered mutual cooperation in forest conservation, pointing to the Heart of Borneo (HoB) programme, a transboundary conservation initiative encompassing Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

McFeeters, who took office as US Ambassador to Malaysia in February this year, said he looks forward to visiting Sabah, a destination well known to many Americans for its natural attractions and the iconic Mount Kinabalu.

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