NEED TO PUSH BILATERAL TRADE, SAYS EGYPTIAN ENVOY

By Salbiah Said

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- Bilateral ties between Malaysia and
Egypt have long been established in education, culture and trade but more push
is needed to take the relationship to a higher level, says Egyptian ambassador
to Malaysia, Hani Abdel Kader Shash.

"Frankly, I am not satisfied. We need to promote our bilateral relationship
further, especially in trade and industry. We have to encourage our private
sector to exchange visits and promote business between the two countries," he
told Bernama after visiting the news agency recently.

At Wisma Bernama, he met up with general manager Hasnul Hassan and
editor-in-chief Datuk Yong Soo Heong. During the meeting, they agreed on the
need to promote exchanges between journalists in Egypt and Malaysia.

"We admire the Malaysian experience, and we consider Malaysians our
brothers. We have many common fields. We appreciate the Malaysian stand towards
Arabian issues in the United Nations and in all international forums. We hope to
have more bilateral cooperation between the two countries," he said.

Egyptian-Malaysian relations date back to 1930s. The two countries
established their diplomatic ties in 1959. Since then, the two nations have been
working to further their relations in the different fields.

At the economic level, Egypt and Malaysia signed an agreement in 1962 to
boost their trade exchange. The Egyptian commercial office was opened in Kuala
Lumpur in 1991.

Egypt is Malaysia's second largest trading partner among countries on the
African continent.

Trade and investment relations between Kuala Lumpur and Cairo almost tripled
to US$562 million (RM2 billion) in 2007 from US$219 million (RM767 million) in
2001.

Between January and October last year, bilateral trade jumped to US$661.4
million (RM2.3 billion) from US$463 million (RM1.6 billion) in the previous
corresponding period, with trade in Malaysia's favour.

As at September last year, Malaysians invested RM636 million in Egypt,
mostly in the manufacturing and mining industries, while Egyptians as of
November last year, invested RM22.8 million in six projects in the manufacturing
of plywood, wooden furniture and production of souvenirs.

Early this year, International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin said that both countries have agreed to set up a joint trade and
investment committee to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties.

The ambassador said bilateral cooperation in education and culture went as
far back as before Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957. Egypt and
Malaysia signed a number of cooperation agreements in the cultural field.

In the educational field, the Al Azhar university used to receive Malaysian
students since the 1950s, he said.

There are now 8,000 Malaysian students studying at the Al Azhar university
and 400 at other Egyptian universities, he added.

In a show of confidence in Malaysia's investment climate, the ambassador
said the nation continued to attract investors from the Arab world, especially
the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with a few billions of ringgit
invested in Johor and Iskandar Malaysia.

On Arab City in Melaka, the envoy said he welcomed the project, reflecting
that it was on the right track, aimed at attracting tourists and investments
from Arab nations.

"We are encouraging and inviting Egyptian and Arab businessmen to invest and
participate in this project. I hope this effort will be further promoted," he
said.

Real estate developer Golden Corporate Heritage Sdn Bhd (GCH), which is a
joint venture between Egyptian, Saudi Arabian and Malaysian partners, will
invest RM250 million to develop the integrated commercial project in Melaka
featuring an Arab architecture concept, said to be the first of its kind in the
world.

Work on the project, a joint venture with the state government, is expected
to start soon and is scheduled for completion within 18 months or by December
2010.

Its development includes shopping bazaars, Arabic themed restaurants and
cafes, Arabic health and beauty spas, and an Arab village.

-- BERNAMA