KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is grateful for the assistance and friendship of the United States over the years, and pledges to continue maintaining cordial bilateral relations, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

       The Chief Minister said that on a country-to-country level, Malaysia and the United States have established bilateral ties since 1957.

       He said the US remains one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners and Malaysia is one of the US’ long-time and closest allies in military, investment, economic and education cooperation.

       “We are thankful for all assistance rendered by the United States to Malaysia and Sabah in the field of education, nature conservation and, most recently, in the Covid-19 pandemic fight,” Hajiji said during a virtual call with US ambassador Brian D. Mcfeeters on Monday (Aug 16).

       The United States recently donated one million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Malaysia and has pledged additional Covid-19 assistance to the Malaysian Red Crescent.

       “The aid will further speed up our efforts in the fight against the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hajiji said.

       He also welcomed the pledge of US$1mil (RM4.24mil) for Sabah’s wildlife conservation efforts to complement the state’s ongoing wildlife protection programmes.

       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 the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), human trafficking, illegal immigrants, and the US Embassy’s longstanding cooperation with University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) on counter terrorism and violent extremism.

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