SAUDI GAZETTE

JEDDAH — A Malaysian delegation has visited on Tuesday the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI). In the meeting, the delegation presented different private sector projects particularly in the downstream sector as well as in food, textile, technology, electricity, plastics, and machinery.

The meeting stressed on the need to encourage cooperation in the trade and industry sectors to develop the economies of the two countries. The cooperation between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia has increased gradually. In 1990 the trade exchange was $260 million, and jumped exponentially to $4.36 billion in 2016.

The Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato Sri Mustapa Muhamed expressed his comfort that the Malaysian exports to Saudi Arabia have reached $2.28 billion. The main exports include electrical and electronic machines as well as chemical and wood products. He added that the imported products from Saudi Arabia are mainly oil and chemical products. The aim of this visit he said is to strengthen the economic, trade and industrial cooperation.

Ziyad Al-Bassam the deputy chairman of the JCCI highlighted the importance of these meetings and added that such meetings tend to enhance cooperation. He noted that direct Saudi investments in Saudi Arabia are valued at $100 million. This amount is invested in 10 projects. Malaysian direct investments in Saudi Arabia surged to $4.3 billion. The total number of Malaysia companies registered at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) are, 20 of which operate in the industry sector while 70 operate in the service sector. In addition, 36 of these companies are purely Malaysian investments while 54 of them are Saudi-Malaysian partnerships.

Al-Bassam explained that the Kingdom is the 19th top trade partner to Malaysia. “As a business society we tackle the responsibility of economic, trade and industrial cooperation. We are proud of what we have achieved and proud of our plans in support of the Saudi government’s economic expansion initiative.”