PM’s UAE visit brings in over RM40bil of investments

ABU DHABI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday and Friday (Oct 5 and 6) only lasted about 36 hours, but that short period led to great benefits for the country, especially in terms of foreign investment.

Anwar’s packed schedule started on Thursday with a meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who is also the Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

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The Prime Minister also met several senior ministers in charge of economic affairs, trade and investment, the stakeholders of UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and major companies.

The visit secured investment commitments amounting to RM40.6bil in sectors such as renewable energy, aerospace and logistics.

Among them was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC-Masdar for renewable energy projects in Malaysia with a capacity of up to 10 gigawatts worth US$8bil (RM37.82bil).

Other investment commitments include US$450mil (RM2.12bil) in the logistics sector and US$150mil (RM709mil) in the aerospace sector.

During the meetings, Anwar gave assurances that Malaysia is committed to advancing renewable energy as well as improving the ease of doing business in the country.

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“When you come to Malaysia, you can see for yourself 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 during a roundtable meeting with UAE captains of industry.

He said the government would identify several suitable locations for foreign investors interested in the renewable energy sector.

This follows Malaysia’s increased attractiveness to foreign investors looking to invest in the sector, he added.

The UAE media said the good ties between the two countries are due to the close personal relationship between Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Sheikh Mohamed, who have cultivated a profound bond since their military training days at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s.

“His Majesty also played a major role in strengthening relations with the UAE, for his good and close relationship with Sheikh Mohamed,” Anwar said at the end of his visit.

Anwar also visited Masdar City, known as the world’s first planned sustainable city.

He said Masdar City is developed in a sophisticated, modern way and meets green requirements; it also has the world-class Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the first university specialising in AI.

With the success of his visit, the Prime Minister said it is now up to the government’s leadership and the relevant ministries and agencies to turn it into a reality that would benefit the country and its people.

Meanwhile, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said that in the field of renewable energy, it is more effective for Mida and Masdar, as agencies in their respective countries, to look at Malaysia as a producer of renewable energy.

He said that in addition to the investment commitments reached during the visit, there are several others still under negotiation in the food technology, food security, hospitality, manufacturing and data centre sectors.

“Following this visit, many follow-ups will be made for more investment for the country,” he added. – Bernama