M'sian Ambassador To Boost Relations With Germany In Non-Trade Areas

By Manik Mehta DUSSELDORF, Nov 19 (Bernama) – Malaysian ambassador to Germany, Sarah Nava Rani Ali Bakri Devadason, is working to further strengthen the “already good partnership” with Germany. “Our relations with Germany are heavily oriented towards trade and business, but we would also like to see this strong partnership with Germany grow in political and social-cultural spheres as well as people-to-people contacts,” she said in an interview with Bernama in Dusseldorf after meeting the large Malaysian exhibitor contingent at the medical-devices trade fair MEDICA. Sarah Nava Rani underscored Malaysia’s strong economic ties with Germany, which has become a key partner in Europe. She said Malaysia’s two-way trade with Germany last year surged to 11 billion euros, up 14.6 per cent from 9.6 billion euros in 2016. Germany ranked as Malaysia’s 11th largest trading partner, 13th largest export destination and 10th largest source of import last year. Malaysia’s main exports to Germany were electrical and electronic products (64.8 per cent), optical and scientific equipment (9.1 per cent), rubber products (5.3 per cent), machinery, equipment and parts (3.8 per cent), and textiles, apparel and footwear (2.7 per cent). Malaysia’s top five import categories from Germany in 2017 were machinery, equipment and parts (25.1 per cent), electrical and electronic products (24.2 per cent), transport equipment (16.5 per cent), chemicals and chemical products (11.3 per cent), and optical and scientific equipment (6.4 per cent). Of the ASEAN countries, Malaysia ranked as Germany’s second largest export destination (after Singapore) and the second largest source of imports (after Vietnam). Malaysian-German trade continued its growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2018, increasing by 5.7 per cent year-on-year to RM476.82 billion. Malaysia’s exports to Germany in the same quarter jumped to RM251.01 billion, up 5.2 per cent over the year-earlier period while imports increased by 6.3 per cent to RM225.81 billion. “Our government’s newly launched Industrial 4.0 policy will further boost our exports,” she maintained, adding that some 400 German companies were already operating in Malaysia. But Malaysian companies are also, increasingly, investing in Germany. Sarah Nava Rani cited, for example, KNM Group Bhd's takeover of German boiler company Borsig GmbH; the Genting group’s acquisition of three shipyards in Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund; Top Glove Corp Bhd's move to establish a subsidiary for importing and distributing protective gloves; Tanjong Capital Sdn Bhd's joint venture to create the Tropical Islands, a themed resort in Germany; Pelikan International Corp's investment in Herlitz, a provider of stationery products; and Sun + Life & Power Sdn Bhd’s establishment of a solar photovoltaic company in Brandenburg. “Our political relations are good, and we can further strengthen our partnership in multilateral areas. Malaysia has also made commitments in environmental protection which is very important for Germany. German companies have shown interest in cooperating with Malaysia in areas such as promoting smart cities. “Our partner-country participation at the 2019 International Tourism Bourse in Berlin in March next year will foster closer people-to-people contacts. We expect a high-ranking delegation to arrive in Berlin for the partner country participation,” she said, adding that the change of government in Malaysia had been well received in Germany. “Germans saw the change of government in Malaysia as a positive development and a manifestation of Malaysia’s political maturity. They are impressed by this,” Sarah Nava Rani said. She added that she was quite upbeat about Malaysia's partnership with Germany, which was expected to strengthen further. -- BERNAMA