MALAYSIA AND JAPAN SET TO PARTNER ON GREENTECH PROJECTS

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Japan and Malaysia are looking at
collaborating in the area of green technology through joint business ventures as
well as research and development projects.

Japan's Ambassador to Malaysia, Masahiko Horie said he believed that through
such an effort, called "Greentech Partnership between Malaysia and Japan" the
two countries would be able to achieve many things together.

Besides business joint ventures and R&D, there could be also collaboration
between Malaysian and Japanese universities.

"We can do many R&D projects for the conservation of energy,
environment and reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions," he told Bernama in
an interview here recently.

He said the Japanese government under its smart community initiatives, is
now trying to introduce the concept of smart community, emphasizing on green
technology, where the CO2 emissions be brought to the lowest level while energy
consumption made as minimum as possible.

"From the Malaysian point of view, the government is planning to make
Putrajaya and Cyberjaya into green technology cities and therefore we are going
to despatch a mission this month comprising Japanese companies with great
technological expertise in the green technology field," he said.

He said these companies had innovated new technology and new machines in
order to reduce the consumption of energy.

"They will be discussing via a dialogue on how to make Putrajaya and
Cyberjaya more green tech and smart community townships," he said.

Horie said Iskandar Malaysia was also keen to develop under the a
greentownship concept and had invited many foreign companies to participate.

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Kyoto
University are already having a joint R&D project towards creating a low carbon
community, he said.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak who visited Japan last April had
also met with the then Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatayama, where both had
signed a joint statement on enhancing the partnership between Malaysia and Japan
including in the economic sector.

Towards this, Horie said more focus would be on environment and the energy
sector with agreement reached for the Malaysia-Japan Cooperation
Initiative in the sector.

"I think this is very important because of the climate change and green gas
and global warming phenomena."

There is a need for everybody and all member countries in the United
Nations to strive for a better environment and reduction in the emission of
CO2.

--BERNAMA