FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Malaysia views regional cooperation as the cornerstone of its foreign policy. It was a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and served as the group's chair most recently in 2005-6. It hosted the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in December 2005, as well as the ASEAN Ministerial and the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2006.
Malaysia is an active member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the United Nations. It is the current chair of the OIC and has also chaired the NAM. Malaysia hosted the APEC Leaders' Meeting in 1998.
Malaysia is a frequent contributor to UN and other peacekeeping missions, including recent deployments to East Timor, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Lebanon.
U.S.-MALAYSIAN
RELATIONS
The United States and Malaysia share a diverse and expanding partnership. Economic ties are robust. The United States is Malaysia's largest trading partner and Malaysia is the tenth-largest trading partner of the U.S. Annual two-way trade amounts to $49 billion. The United States and Malaysia launched negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in June 2006.
The United States is the largest foreign investor in Malaysia. American companies are particularly active in the energy, electronics, and manufacturing sectors. The cumulative value of U.S. private investment in Malaysia exceeds $10 billion.
The United States and Malaysia enjoy strong security cooperation. Malaysia hosts the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counterterrorism (SEARCCT), where over 1,100 officials from multiple countries have received training. The United States is the largest foreign provider of training courses at the center. The U.S. and Malaysia share a strong military-to-military relationship with numerous exchanges, training, joint exercises, and visits.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Kuala Lumpur in July 2006.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--James R. Keith
Deputy Chief of Mission--David B. Shear
Political Counselor--Mark D. Clark
Economic Counselor--Matt J. Matthews
Commercial Counselor--Joseph B. Kaesshaefer
Public Affairs Officer--Phillip Hoffmann
Agricultural Attache--David W. Cottrell
Consul--Andrew T. Miller
The U.S. Embassy in Malaysia is located at 376 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur (tel. 60-3-2168-5000, fax 60-3-2142-2207).
