PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and the United States (US) are set to deliberate on wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest, starting tomorrow.
This is possible in conjunction with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's two day working visit to Malaysia scheduled until Wednesday.
"This is his first visit to Malaysia since his appointment as the US Secretary of State on Feb 1, 2017," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement today.
During the visit, Tillerson will also call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak tomorrow and meet Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Wednesday.
The ministry added Malaysia and the US had enjoyed excellent relations with substantial collaboration and cooperation in many areas.
The US was Malaysia’s third largest trading partner in last year, Wisma Putra said.
For the period of January to May this year, total bilateral trade grew 23.3 per cent amounting to RM68.2 billion (USD$15.4 billion) as compared with RM55.3 billion (USD$13.5 billion) during the same period in 2016.
"The working visit of the Secretary of State is an affirmation of the commitment by the US under President Trump’s administration to further strengthen bilateral ties with Malaysia.," it said.