Mahathir has been publicly critical of the Foreign Policy of the United States from time to time, particularly during the George W. Bush presidency. Nevertheless, relations between the two countries were still positive. The United States was the biggest foreign investment source and was Malaysia's biggest customer during Mahathir's rule. Furthermore, Malaysian military officers continued to train in the US under the International Military Education And Training (IMET) program. The BBC reported that relations with the United States took a turn for the worse in 1998 when Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, gave a speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference hosted by Malaysia. Gore stated that: