Najib’s US working visit an important bridge to world financial centre

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NEW YORK: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s working visit to the United States, beginning tomorrow, is significant as it will provide Malaysia an important bridge to the world’s biggest financial centre and the path to the world economy.

Malaysian Ambassador to the United States Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis said it was important for the country to engage with the world and strengthen its networking as it embarked on a major transformation programme at home.

“To bridge is to the US. That is why the Prime Minister will be here, especially, to launch the Invest Malaysia 2011 at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) which is just not the financial centre of the US but also the world,” he said at a briefing for Malaysian journalists here today.

Najib, who is currently on a working visit to Britain, is expected to arrive here at 1.15am Tuesday with his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Jamaluddin said Najib was scheduled to launch and deliver a keynote address at the Invest Malaysia 2011 conference the same day.

The idea to hold Invest Malaysia at the largest stock exchange in the world was mooted by Najib when he visited the NYSE, last Sept, in a move to attract US investors into the Malaysian market as well as other markets in the Southeast Asia region.

The US was Malaysia’s fourth largest trading partner in 2010, with total trade amounting to RM117.32 billion (US$36.43 billion) compared with RM109.21 billion (US$31.03 billion) registered in 2009.

Describing the New York conference as historic and unprecedented, Jamaluddin said normally such events were organised by investment banks and the business community but this time the NYSE had agreed to play host and the prime minister was availing himsef to engage with top investors.

He said many corporate figures, investors and hedge fund managers are looking forward to hear from the premier himself on the initiatives and transformation programmes undertaken by his administration as Najib steers the country towards a high-income nation.

Najib’s busy schedule in New York would also include meetings with several industry captains, among them, the Chief Operating Officer of NYSE Euronext, Lawrence Leibowitz, and a roundtable and luncheon with the US Chamber of Commerce.

Forbes President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Forbes will host a private dinner for the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

Besides meeting corporate leaders on Tuesday, Najib will also chair the inaugural meeting of the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council for Malaysia (GSIAC) at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS).

“It will be a good opportunity for the Prime Minister to listen to the views of some of the people who have transformed the United States and the world. This is a good chance to listen to ideas and knowledge,” he said.

The GSIAC is a joint initiative between the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and NYAS in pursuit of transforming Malaysia into a high-income economy through enhancing Malaysia’s capabilities in science and innovation.

The 194-year-old academy has 25,000 members in 140 countries, including Nobel prize winners and heads of companies.

On Wednesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dow Jones and Company Les Hinton will meet Najib, who will also hold individual meetings, with the Executive Vice President of Motorola Gene Delaney, Chief Executive Officer of CitiGroup Vikram Pandit, Senior Vice President and Managing Director Partner of IBM Frank Kemand Jand President/CEO of AIG Consumer Jeff Hayman.

Later in the day, the premier will witness the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) between General Electric and AirAsia X, Universiti Putra Malaysia and University of Maryland and Malaysia’s Ministry of Health and University of Maryland. – Bernama