RIYADH (Oct 21): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim continued the unity government's efforts to attract global investors to Malaysia by holding a meeting with industry leaders on Saturday, which is the last day of his working visit to Saudi Arabia.

After the end of the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit here on Friday, Anwar, who is also the minister of finance, took the opportunity to meet with Saudi Arabia's Trade Minister Dr Majid Abdullah Alkassabi and the president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco Amin H Nasser to discuss more about the world's largest oil and gas company's investment plans in Malaysia.

He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, and the Malaysian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Datuk Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah.

Previously, Saudi Aramco had voiced its intention to make Malaysia a hub for Saudi Arabia's oil and gas development in Southeast Asia. In 2017, Petronas and Saudi Aramco established a joint investment in Pengerang, Kota Tinggi in Johor.

Tengku Zafrul told the Malaysian media that Saturday's talks with Aramco went smoothly and were on the right track. He said the results of the discussion with Aramco will be announced in the near future.

Tengku Zafrul said the prime minister also met on Saturday the leaders of Malaysian and Saudi Arabian companies that have established cooperation in several projects related to real estate, technology, and aviation in both countries. Among them are Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) and Ajlan & Bros Holding Group, MGB Bhd, and Alameriah Real Estate Development as well as Mobility One Sdn Bhd, Al-Nesma Holding Co Ltd and SARH.

He said Anwar then witnessed the exchange of memorandum of understanding documents between Westar Aviation Services Sdn Bhd and Mukamalah Aviation Company, DNeX and Ajlan Bros Holding Group, Twistcode Technologies Sdn Bhd and Ajlan Bros as well as MGB Bhd and Sany Alameriah.

According to Tengku Zafrul, the prime minister also received a courtesy visit from the governor of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Nasir Al-Rumayyan, to discuss the prospect of cooperation in the field of investment.

He said the programme on Saturday proved the seriousness and commitment of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to further increase trade and investment relations and cooperation to a new level. "We can see how quickly the efforts to hold discussions between the two parties were carried out. This proves their seriousness and commitment," said Tengku Zafrul.

The programme was organised by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, and the Malaysian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Anwar is on a two-day working visit to Riyadh to attend the Asean-GCC Summit, which was held for the first time since the two regional blocs established relations in 1990.

Saudi Arabia is Malaysia's largest trading partner among West Asian countries, with total bilateral trade between the two countries in 2022 amounting to US$10.26 billion (RM48.91 billion), an increase of 159.2% from 2021.

Among Saudi Arabia's main projects in Malaysia is the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor by Saudi Aramco.

The Fortune Global 500 in 2021 placed Saudi Aramco in the top six most profitable companies in the world, with a turnover of US$105 billion.

Read also:
Zafrul: Malaysia, Saudi Arabia agree to form ministerial-level committee to take trade relations to new level
Zafrul: Asean-GCC cooperation to boost bilateral trade, investment
Leaders convene at historic Asean-GCC Summit, Malaysia calls for an end to oppression of Palestinians
PM proposes Asean-GCC Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement