KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has welcomed the proposal by Saudi Arabia’s Agriculture Minister Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley to cooperate with Malaysia in the food security framework.
He said via a post on his Facebook page today that this was due to Malaysia’s great potential in agriculture, including its large amounts of land that could be cultivated.
Ismail Sabri said AlFadley proposed the cooperation when he paid a courtesy call at Putrajaya today.
“AlFadley and I see a lot of potential for cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry that can be jointly explored.
“I agree that Malaysia and Saudi Arabia should work together in the food security framework by establishing a joint committee to review and formulate policies on food safety,” he said.
At the meeting, the prime minister said AlFadley also touched on the prospect of “reverse investment”, which Malaysia could explore to address the global issue of food security.
He said the Saudi Arabian government had used the same concept with other countries, such as the United States, South American nations, Ukraine, and Australia.
“AlFadley feels that this cooperation will be of great benefit to both nations... even the Saudi Arabian leadership is ready to support food security initiatives between the two countries,” he said.
Ismail Sabri said Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have a special relationship that has been established for a long time, not only in the context of people-to-people relations but also covering wide economic ties. – Bernama, July 13, 2022