Malaysia Leaving No Stone Unturned In Quest For New Markets For Trade, Investment - PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is strengthening its commitment to multilateralism by opening up more markets through trade and investment partnerships, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

Anwar told China broadcaster CGTN anchor Zheng Junfeng in a recent interview that Malaysia’s initial approach to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), following an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping, has yielded positive results and fostered further collaboration.

“We have seen the effectiveness, and we look forward to further collaborating with the SCO, but you see the whole strategy now, even from Malaysia, and I encourage my colleagues in ASEAN to open up trade and investment relations and broaden the market base.

"We have ASEAN, and we have ASEAN+, that is with China, Korea, Japan and all the other countries. But it’s more important to have new mechanisms, new engagements such as the SCO, BRICS," he said.

On the upcoming ASEAN Summit in October, Anwar noted that leaders from Brazil, South Africa, Italy and Canada will be participating, which he described as a remarkable step for the region.

Anwar also reiterated Malaysia's commitment to discussing the possibility of extending the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project by 25 kilometres to Thailand. 

"We don't stop in the north, but also to extend to the border of Thailand, hopefully with the new Thai government or the existing one – they are in the midst of change – we will discuss the possibility of extending it," he said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said Malaysia is well positioned to benefit from the electric vehicle success in China through Proton's long-standing collaboration with Geely. He revealed that he has been in discussions with Geely chairman Li Shufu, and with support from both the Chinese and Malaysian governments, will further strengthen cooperation.

"We will launch Geely's major expansion into the automotive city, and Geely would initially have this hybrid and then EV production," he added.

-- BERNAMA