M'sia Wants To Woo More Investments From America, Says Envoy

From Khairdzir Md Yunus NEW YORK, May 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will promote more cooperation with American companies in efforts to woo more investments from the United States, Malaysian Ambassador to the United States Othman Hashim said Tuesday. "Eventhough there are many US companies in Malaysia, we want more American companies to invest in Malaysia," he told the Malaysian media ahead of Prime Minister Najib Razak's visit to New York from Tuesday to Friday. As part of the effort, he said, Najib will attend a business roundtable with the business community here and meet chief executive officers of top US companies and captains of industries. Among the companies are Eastman Chemical, Global Consumer Insurance, Guardian Pharmacy, ConocoPhilips, Boeing and Citigroup. "The United States is one of the top foreign investors in Malaysia, so we want to increase the figures. We know there are a lot of opportunities for Malaysia and the United States to work together in this field," he said. Othman said Malaysia was also pushing for an increase in trade with the United States eventhough trade between the two countries was now "very huge". On Najib's working visit, Othman said it was to strengthen Malaysia-US relations, particularly in the area of economics, trade and business, which are of interest to Malaysia. "We are happy that relations between Malaysia and the US have been very strong and warm, and this positive development has been going on even stronger during the last few years. "We could see this in terms of the exchange of visits...(and) if you look at the trade figures and other activities that have been done between the two countries in the various areas...especially in political relations, economic, trade, science and technology, and some other areas which have been there for quite a while, like defence, security...these are all important issues of mutual interest and mutual benefit to both countries," he said. He said the highlight of the visit is the Second Meeting of the Global Sciences and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), which will be chaired by Najib on Wednesday. The council comprises 35 members –- 10 from Malaysia and 25 international members. It 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 by enhancing Malaysia's capabilities in science and innovation. It was launched by Najib and held its inaugural meeting here on May 17 last year. In conjunction with the meeting, the prime minister is scheduled to witness several exchange of documents including between MyBiomass, Sime Darby and Felda; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia, UKM) and NYAS; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (University of Technology, Malaysia) and Columbia University; Center for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (University of Science, Malaysia) and Earth Institute, Columbia University; and Nano Malaysia Corporation and Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center of Stony Brook University. Najib will also attend a roundtable meeting with leaders of Fortune 500 Companies at Harvard Club of New York, apart from receiving courtesy calls by Chairman of the Board and CEO of Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation, Jeremy P. Feakins and Executive Vice President of Motorola Solutions, Gene Delaney, among others. In a separate programme, Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, is scheduled to receive a courtesy call by the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, Anna Maria Chavez, and will visit the New York Presbyterian Children’s Hospital on Wednesday. Najib and Rosmah will depart for Washington D.C. on a special aircraft from the Westchester County Airport on Friday. -- BERNAMA