KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The participation of some 30 defence and security related companies from the United States (US) at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (Natsec) Asia 2024 here showed the importance of Malaysia and the exhibition among them, said the US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D. Kagan.

"This is something where the US has been participating for a long time, but I’m really happy that we have such a strong team of US companies that are here. I think that their participation shows their recognition of the importance of DSA not just as a platform for engaging with Malaysia but also for engaging with the region.

"And I think what you will see is very high quality companies that either are doing business here or want to do business here that bring proven solutions, that are available for Malaysia,” he said when met after officiating the US Pavilion, here today.

Besides that, Kagan said he is also proud of the role the US investment has played in Malaysia’s development in which the US continues to be the largest investor in Malaysia.

"I think that shows a commitment. It’s a commitment that translates into real terms, jobs for Malaysians, over 300,000 Malaysians working in US companies and US companies pay twice the average salary to their workers.

"So I think it’s a sign of how the investment benefits Malaysia. It also benefits us because of the critical role for us and global supply chains,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kagan said the upcoming visit of US Treasury’s Undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson and his team to Singapore and Malaysia next week are part of ongoing discussions with key partners on the importance of an unified global response to critical threats.

"I don’t want to prejudge the discussions. You know, the US discussions typically are very candid, very frank and cover a wide range of issues.

"But I will say that we’re approaching this very much in the spirit of partnership with the sense that we do share common threats and challenges, and that we all recognise the importance the international community standing together on things that are critical to the security of all of us,” he said. — Bernama