Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received a phone call from Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on Thursday.
They reviewed the distinguished bilateral relations between both countries, along with opportunities for their development.
“Additionally, a number of issues of common interest were discussed,” reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
“During the call, distinguished bilateral relations between the two countries and opportunities for developing them were reviewed.”
Malaysia and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic ties in 1961. Saudi Arabia is Malaysia’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with total trade valued at more than US$10 billion in 2022, and Malaysian officials have been expressing intentions to strengthen ties and explore new areas of cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Malaysia Surges Ahead In Energy Transition, Ease Of Doing Business: PM
Malaysia has made major strides in its energy transition efforts as well as in improving the ease of doing business in the country, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Speaking to captains of industry during a roundtable meeting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, he emphasised Malaysia’s commitment to implementing good and clear policies with regard to renewable energy (RE) and technological advancements.
He noted that Malaysia is one of the earliest countries in Southeast Asia to move towards RE, with Sarawak as a major energy hub, currently supplying energy to Indonesia’s new capital, Kalimantan.
At the same time, Malaysia is also participating in the first cross-border power trade in the ASEAN region under the Lao-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project to strengthen the ASEAN Power Grid.
“The capacity is so large because of the new investments that rely on the power grid and RE,” he said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister also highlighted Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) efforts to facilitate the ease of doing business with the New Industrial Masterplan 2030.
“The NIMP provides a clear direction as to what needs to be done, and such clarity is needed to ease doing business to ensure we remain competitive,” he said.
Anwar also highlighted that Malaysia is in the lead in terms of new technology in microchips and semiconductor industries among developing countries.
He shared that Germany’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, Infineon Technologies AG plan to invest up to 5.0 billion euros to build the world’s largest 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) power fabrication (power fab) plant in Malaysia.
The prime minister said Malaysia had a thriving, vibrant economy in the 90’s and is now set to thrive again and resume its vibrant economy, together with its ASEAN counterparts.
“This means we need to do whatever is necessary to be competitive so that our economy and our people can benefit from these policies and initiatives.
“When you come to Malaysia, you can see it for yourself, see the changes from what you observed five or three or even two years ago.
“I want to prove a point – now things are much better and it is easy to do business due to clear determination and effective leadership as we want to make sure things function effectively,” he said.
Also present were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir; Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
Anwar is currently on a two-day working visit to the UAE which began yesterday.
