KUALA LUMPUR: The United States (US) and Malaysia plan to enhance future collaboration in matters pertaining to the strengthening of trade, investment, industry facilitation and technical cooperation and linkages.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said both countries had agreed to collaborate in areas such as climate change mitigation products, digital trade, medical devices and electrical and electronics.
"Both countries also agree to jointly work with industry partners to enhance collaboration on semiconductor supply chain transparency, security and resilience," he said in a statement, following the United States Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo's official visit to Malaysia today ( November 18).
According to Azmin, the visit underscored Malaysia-US strong economic ties and bilateral relations underpinned by an enduring partnership built over the years.
The inaugural visit started off with a courtesy call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob where they exchanged views on a broad range of subjects including the Covid-19 pandemic and economic recovery.
Following the courtesy call, Raimondo and Azmin held a bilateral meeting which entailed discussion on the expansion of cooperation in new growth areas including the digital economy and green technology.
"We agreed that Covid-19 disruptions have exposed the complexity and weaknesses of the global supply chain thereby necessitating greater efforts in building supply chain resilience.
"In this regard, the discussion touched on the global chip shortage which highlights the critical interconnectedness of diverse economies," said Azmin.
With regard to the measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, Azmin said both countries agreed that global cooperation is key to keep it under control and to navigate both countries' economies out of the crisis.
"At the roundtable meeting with leading semiconductor companies, which I co-chaired with Secretary Raimondo, we took cognisance of the concerns of supply chain issues and welcomed the call for enhanced collaboration in this regard.
"The participating companies expressed views centred on three key areas namely, the impact of Covid-19 on global supply chain; how Malaysian semiconductor companies have been affected by the pandemic on the domestic and regional fronts.
"We also look at the way forward for Malaysia to enhance her resilience in the global supply chain as well as the role of the US to bolster these efforts," he added.