PM ANWAR'S VISIT TO QATAR REAPS TRADE COMMITMENTS, STRENGTHENS TIES AND PEACE EFFORTS

From Nor Baizura Basri

DOHA, May 15 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's first official visit to Qatar as Prime Minister, which concluded on Tuesday, sent two unequivocal signals.

Firstly, Malaysia is strengthening its bilateral ties with one of the wealthiest nations in West Asia through enhanced trade and investment. And secondly, Malaysia is asserting its stance as an independent nation committed to peace efforts on the global stage.

This visit followed Anwar's trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last month, underscoring Malaysia's intent to forge new partnerships and attract investment, particularly as Doha and Putrajaya celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations this year.

The three-day visit to Doha at the invitation of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was packed with engagements aimed at fostering economic and educational ties.

Accompanying Anwar were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan; Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz; and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir.

Opportunities in digital, trade 

Qatar's aggressive efforts for “digital transformation”, with incentives worth nine billion Qatari riyals (US$2.47 billion) including in artificial intelligence (AI) that were announced during the Qatar Economic Forum 2024 here, have sparked global interest.

Malaysia has registered its interest too.

At his exit press conference, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said Malaysia must seize the opportunity to cooperate with Qatar as the latter embarks on digital transformation, as this would benefit the country which is also embarking aggressively on a digital journey, particularly in AI.

A roundtable meeting with 45 prominent Qatari captains of industry from 36 companies generated commitments for RM700 million worth of Malaysian goods and services, signalling confidence in the country's quality offerings.

“Some promised to invest right away. There are companies that want to pay a visit to Kuala Lumpur in a week or two to examine several areas of focus including digital, energy and food, while there is also interest from some to explore the infrastructure sector.

“I believe that with the support of the Emir of Qatar and Prime Minister (Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani), potential investments from Qatar can be expedited as they are (expected to be) large. They informed me that they want Malaysia to be the area of focus,” the Prime Minister told the media conference on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the two countries is set to soar. Anwar said bilateral trade this year could surpass last year's figure given the current momentum.

Last year, bilateral trade with Qatar amounted to RM4.2 billion, as the Gulf state became Malaysia’s fifth-largest trading partner, sixth-largest export destination and sixth-largest import source from the West Asia region.

From January to March 2024, Malaysia’s total trade with Qatar increased by 178.4 per cent to US$303.9 million (RM1.43 billion) compared with US$116.7 million (RM514.9 million) in the corresponding period in 2023. 

Currently, petroleum and natural gas are the mainstay of its economy, with Qatar being home to one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world.

Efforts for peace in Palestine

Anwar's first meeting with Hamas de facto leader Ismail Haniyeh as Malaysia’s Prime Minister certainly stole the limelight, igniting sparks of reaction from all parts of the world.

The meeting that took place on the request of Hamas touched on updates on the Palestine-Israel conflict, a move that is beneficial to the ongoing peace process, of which the Qatari government plays a huge role as mediator.

The Prime Minister has never hesitated to express strong emotions about the Palestinian cause, a commitment he has championed since the beginning of his administration.

In a public talk which he had a chance to deliver on the future of the Muslim world, he highlighted the hypocrisy shown by the Western superpowers which, while talking about humanity, democracy, and human rights, allow actions by the Zionists that violate these values, including committing genocide against certain segments of the population.

Describing it as mind-boggling and sheer madness, he said: “How come, after decades, we are still seeing all this happening? It causes a lot of anger. People, including in Malaysia, are angry, because the entire system has failed… the international community failed; the superpowers failed; and mainstream media has either failed or (is doing) minimal. Ultimately, the inhumanity continues,” he said.

Therefore, Anwar called upon the academia and students to remain steadfast in upholding the values of humanity and sincerity to enable them to plan for a brighter future for the Islamic world.

All in all, for Anwar and the whole Malaysian delegation, their visit to Doha this time has certainly left a lasting impression on bilateral relations and economic fronts.

-- BERNAMA