ABU DHABI – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has summed up his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a success, chalking up over RM40 billion in investment pledges.
However, he did point out that it would all depend on the administration in making them a reality.
In concluding his two-day working visit here, the prime minister expressed reservations over the sluggish bureaucracy when dealing with certain matters.
“All of them want us to speed up the process…other countries are doing it a lot faster. (Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz) also knows. This is why I will no longer tolerate these delays.
“Other countries may be offering much better incentives than us…still, if we are able to attract them (investors), it is our duty to speed things up,” he told reporters at the end of his trip here today.
Anwar cited data centres as one instance of such delays.
The prime minister’s two-day special visit to the UAE from October 5 to October 6 has yielded approximately RM40.6 billion in committed investments to which Anwar credited to the close relationship of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan.
“All of these have yielded results due to my early meetings with the president, where both of us discussed international affairs and heart-to-heart talks on issues, as well as strengthening ties between both nations,” he said.
The bulk of the investments are seen in the field of renewable energy where Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar) would be investing up to RM37.8 billion in developing renewable energy projects in Malaysia with a capacity of 10 gigawatts.
Other than the Masdar investment pledge, UAE is also committed to invest up to US$600 million (RM2.8 billion) from the UAE, with US$450 million in the logistical sector and US$150 million in the aerospace sector.
Anwar noted he had also seen bigger investment commitments from the UAE business communities throughout the series of meetings organised by Miti and the Foreign Ministry, which has made the investment pledges to Malaysia possible.
He also complimented UAE’s progress after witnessing the advancement of the nation in Masdar City, which is the world’s first planned sustainable city, and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence.
Anwar also said a follow-up mission will be organised by the UAE to Malaysia some time next month. – The Vibes, October 6, 2023
