PUTRAJAYA, July 29 – Malaysia and France are looking forward to venture into new areas of cooperation, particularly in renewable energy, transportation and biotech.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the cooperation was discussed with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault in their meeting here today.
He said apart from that, Malaysia and France were also keen to deepen and strengthen current economic relations, particularly in trade and investment, defence and education.
“There are two significant investments. Firstly, the Prime Minister is visiting this afternoon to Sendayan, set to become the base for aircraft brakes for the entire Asian market worth US$125 million,” he told the media at a joint press conference, here today.
He also highlighted the biotech investment in Terengganu between Arkema of France and CJ CheilJedang (CJ) of South Korea.
Najib said the discussion also touched on the defence cooperation, taking into account that the defence minister from both countries would meet in December, to discuss more substantive issues.
“The (French) Prime Minister also assured me that deep understanding and partnership will continue, basically in defence and we look forward to some of the acquisition into aircraft and helicopters,” he said.
Najib also noted that many traditional companies found their home in Malaysia, and that they were looking forward to more investment from France in the near future.
“It was a productive meeting, we discussed regional and international issues, our role in some of the development in other parts of the world, with respect to the economic situation and I believe His Excellency’s visit will add a new chapter to our warm bilateral ties,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ayrault said Malaysia was the second largest economic partner in Asean for France, where there were some 260 french companies in Malaysia, and they were ready to support all the projects to turn Malaysia to be a fully develop country by 2020.
“My visit is also to look for new opportunities for French small and medium entrepreneurs to come and explore the possibility in Malaysia, particularly in the field of infrastructure, information and communication and sustainability city,” he said.
Earlier Najib and Ayrault witnessed the signing ceremony for three Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between Malaysia and France, where the first is between the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology and Thales cooperation in railway industry.
The second was between the National Defence University of Malaysia and Eurosae SAS to establish cooperation in the field of engineering, aviation and aerospace, maritime and transport, tailored to defence and security.
The MoU for strategic collaboration between Mara and Eurosae Advanced Training in the area of aviation and aerospace technology was also signed.
– BERNAMA
