MALAYSIA GETS US$14.33 MLN ODA FROM EU

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia received RM43 million (US$14.3
million) in official development aid (ODA) from the European Union (EU) last
year to promote legal timber trade and sustainable forest management.

In a statement Friday, the EU Delegation to Malaysia said the EU was also
funding projects for small and middle enterprises to commercialise products made
of biomass and for making batik production cleaner and safer for the workers.

"In Sabah, the EU also supported civil society organisations projects such
as the education for the children of immigrant workers," it said.

In 2010, despite the global economic uncertainties, the EU's collective
development aid reached a record RM232 billion (US$77.33 million).

The aid was made available to the least developing countries in Africa, the
Caribbean and the Pacific, including middle-income countries and emerging
economies like Malaysia.