EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES: Photo shows Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Tan Sri Sidek Mohd Hassan (centre) flanked by the ‘Power Ladies’ from the UAE at Putrajaya. Bilateral trade between UAE and Malaysia is estimated at US$6.4 billion, as revealed by the Chief Secretary.
KUCHING: United Arab Emirates (UAE) businesswomen visiting Malaysia paid a courtesy call Malaysian Government Chief Secretary, Tan Sri Sidek Mohd Hassan yesterday to explore opportunities for closer business ties between the two countries to boost bilateral trade and investment.
The visitors, who are here to attend the Power Ladies UAE-Malaysia Roundtable 2011 from December 5 to 9, will be visiting leading officials of the government and corporate sector to discover further opportunities in the country.
Dubai Business Women Council president and Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group managing director, Raja Easa Al Gurg noted in a press release yesterday, “I would like to see the embassies of UAE and Malaysia working closely to synchronise business relations and seek out investment windows for both countries.”
Currently, bilateral trade between UAE and Malaysia is estimated at US$6.4 billion.
Abu Dhabi Business Women Council president and Al Jaber Group chief operating officer, Fatima Obaid Al Jaber urged Malaysia to create more visibility for the country’s investment environment, especially in places such as the UAE where investors are keen to tap into the Malaysian market.
Sidek concurred with the ladies as he highlighted that Malaysia was an ideal investment destination as the government intended to go beyond incentives to lure incoming investment.
“We are also training human resources for the needs of investors with a strong focus on the high-tech and the services industy,” he noted this as a step taken in conjunction with the nation’s vision to be a fully developed country by 2020.
Sidek pointed out various transformation programmes that the government led to enhance competitiveness, such as Pemudah, a special task force set up between the public and private sector to simplify the process of doing business in Malaysia.
The task force had been working on easing licensing and immigration requirements and visas for highly skilled talents and investors.
Other topics that the meeting touched on include the unemployment rate in Malaysia, business registration processes, programmes for small and medium enterprises, special incentives as well as the most promising sectors for investment.