KUALA LUMPUR: There is a growing recognition in Washington of the important role Malaysia plays in building a resilient global supply chain, US senior official for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Matt Murray said.
Murray said as the world went through the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia had demonstrated real importance in the global supply chain, especially on personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies, semiconductors and some other important manufacturing area.
"My regional global perspective is that there's certainly a growing recognition in Washington about the important role Malaysia plays and that's why it's so important for Malaysia to engage in these regional initiatives, including Apec and Asean.
"So we very much look forward to continuing to work with Malaysia on that basis," Murray said during a teleconference after the 5th Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) in Tokyo yesterday.
The teleconference was also joined by US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) director Enoh Ebong.
The event was hosted and sponsored by the USTDA, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the US Department of State and in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.
The IPBF is the premier public-private US government event to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation between the US and its partners throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Ebong said during the forum, business leaders and senior government officials discussed the role of high-quality infrastructures, simulating inclusive economic growth including clean energy and decarbonisation, the digital economy and the supply chain.
"These areas of focus are why USTDA has now hosted IPBF for the fourth time. In fact, for the past 30 years, we have worked in partnership across the Indo-Pacific to advance the region infrastructure priorities," she said.
