{
    "title": "US-ASEAN Business Council Leads a U.S. Private Sector Delegation to Sarawak and Sabah for its Second East Malaysia Business Mission",
    "modified_at": "2026-09-15 11:57:46",
    "published_at": "2026-09-11 05:30:00",
    "url": "https://press.usasean.org/us-asean-business-council-leads-a-us-private-sector-delegation-to-sarawak-and-sabah-for-its-second-east-malaysia-business-mission",
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    "culture": "en",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "us-asean-business-council-leads-a-us-private-sector-delegation-to-sarawak-and-sabah-for-its-second-east-malaysia-business-mission",
    "body": "<p style=\"text-align: justify\">(Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia) From September 7-10, the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) convened a delegation of senior U.S. business executives in Kuching, Sarawak, and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Building on the Council&#039;s inaugural engagement with both state governments in 2024, this year&rsquo;s East Malaysia Business Mission&rsquo;s theme drew from the priorities set out in the Sarawak Post-COVID Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030 and the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0 development framework.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">During the mission, Amb. Brian McFeeters (ret.), USABC President &amp; CEO, emphasized the U.S. business community&#039;s commitment to supporting Sarawak&#039;s and Sabah&#039;s economic growth: &quot;Sabah and Sarawak are charting distinct but complementary paths toward diversified economies, and we are eager help increase competitiveness in both states.&quot; He highlighted the mission&#039;s significance as USABC&#039;s only state-level government engagement program in ASEAN, which underscores the importance of East Malaysia.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">In Kuching, the delegation met with the Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health and Housing, Datuk Amar Professor Dr. Sim Kui Hian, who expressed appreciation for the engagement and highlighted the importance of strengthening long-term cooperation with USABC. The delegation also met with the CEO of Invest Sarawak; the General Manager of the Sarawak Multimedia Authority; the Head of Innovation at the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Technology Development; and the Minister of Transport Sarawak.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">In Kota Kinabalu, the delegation&rsquo;s discussions with Sabah government counterparts covered priorities on energy, investment, digital infrastructure, and workforce development. Sabah Minister of Finance YB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Masidi Manjun also outlined areas of interest for further cooperation with USABC members. In addition, the delegation met with the CEO of Invest Sabah; the CEO of the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS); the Chair of the Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation; the 7th Chief Minister of Sabah, and the President of the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association/Huguan Siou.</p><p style=\"text-align: justify\">Companies participating in the 2026 East Malaysia Business Mission include Coca-Cola, Bitdeer, Philip Morris, Thermo Fisher, and Moody&#039;s.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>",
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