US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah spoke candidly and productively as part of the senior US official’s first visit to Malaysia.

“Our conversations covered a wide range of topics, and our bilateral connections have been robust,” Saifuddin said during a meeting with hearing-impaired singer Jeshurun Vincent, who has been to 102 countries and contributed to cultural diplomacy.

Blinken landed in Kuala Lumpur last night for a two-day business visit as part of a South-east Asia visit. He had already made a stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, and will now continue on to Bangkok, Thailand.

Saifuddin said during his welcome comments at the bilateral meeting with Blinken that the Malaysia-US Comprehensive Partnership has never been stronger and that it would only continue to become deeper and more diversified.