Malaysia, Uzbekistan Renew Economic Ties In Fourth Decade Of Diplomatic Relations -- Minister Tengku Zafrul
By Kamarul Ariffin Md Yassin
SAMARKAND (Uzbekistan), May 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Uzbekistan are poised to renew their commitment to bolstering economic ties as they mark the fourth decade of diplomatic relations, said Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said Malaysia remains committed to collaborative efforts with Uzbekistan in industrial reform, aligning with Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030.
“One of the key pillars of this economic partnership is to enhance business linkages. The large young population and growing economy of Uzbekistan present significant opportunities for Malaysian companies seeking to expand their presence in the region,” he said in his remarks at the high-level Uzbekistan-Malaysia Business Forum at the Silk Road Samarkand Complex here Saturday.
Also present were Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev.
Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia and Uzbekistan's warm relations and enduring friendship over the last 32 years are rooted in both nations shared values, history, and mutual interests, which have served as the foundation for their strong diplomatic and economic cooperation.
“The inaugural visit by the Prime Minister demonstrates Malaysia’s commitment to fostering stronger ties between the two countries, and we hope that the business links will mirror this interest,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul also said that it is appropriate for both countries to reinvigorate their engagement to seize new opportunities for cooperation through the Malaysia-Uzbekistan Joint Trade Committee, which is a dedicated platform for fostering closer economic cooperation, facilitating trade, and exploring new opportunities for partnership and collaboration.
“As we are now living in an increasingly complex environment, a more robust trade architecture should be put in place to boost investor and business confidence.
“To that end, Malaysia is keen to work together to enhance trade facilitation and ease of doing business between both countries,” he said.
He noted that one of the agencies under his ministry, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), has taken a proactive approach to forge cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan (CCIU), marking the beginning of a promising, fruitful collaboration between the private sectors of both countries.
On the high-level business forum, he expressed hope that it will pave the way and catalyse many successful partnerships between business communities and encourage business leaders to continue exploring potential collaboration for the mutual benefits of both countries.
Tengku Zafrul is among the members of the Malaysian delegation on the visit to Uzbekistan led by the Prime Minister.
On the same development, Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday witnessed six Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) exchanges between Malaysia and Uzbekistan here relating to cooperation between both countries in various fields.
MATRADE and the CCIU signed an MoU to strengthen and develop trade promotion cooperation between Malaysia and Uzbekistan as well as to exchange trade information.
The second MoU is between Sunview Sdn Bhd and Yashil Energiya” LLC for the installation of solar panels with a total capacity of up to 50 mW for social organisation buildings and government offices in Uzbekistan, while University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Tashkent State University of Economics (TSUE) plan to collaborate in the education sector, especially to jointly develop collaborative programmes and provide opportunities and support for students in their professional and career development.
Both universities will also promote institutional exchanges by inviting faculty, staff and students from the partner institution besides to collaborate in education programmes and share knowledge and organise joint research, consultancy projects and other academic activities.
TSUE will also collaborate with Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) in the exchange of faculty, joint research activities and publication, academic Programme (Double Degree, Masters and Doctorate level).
Besides this, UUM will collaborate with the Banking and Finance Academy (BFA), and offer its Master of Business Management (MBM) programme while BFA will allow the transfer of credits to their own MBA programme upon the completion of the UUM MBM programme.
The exchange of MoUs, which was held at the Silk Road Samarkand Complex, was also witnessed by Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev.
Anwar is currently in Uzbekistan for a three-day official visit that began with his arrival in Tashkent on Friday.
-- BERNAMA
