MELBOURNE (March 4, 2011): Expressing satisfaction over his just-concluded Aussie trip, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak summed up Malaysian-Australian relations in just one word – warm.
"From the official and personal point of view, I see there is a lot of warmth in Malaysia-Australia relations," he told Malaysian journalists at the end of his three-day official visit to Australia here today.
Najib said he was pleased with the reception accorded him by the Australian government.
"The fact that the reception was at such a level, indicates Australia values the friendship with Malaysia," he said.
Moving forward, he said, Malaysia and Australia could be strategic partners in a multi-faceted relationship, not only on trade and investment but in the field of education and combating transnational crimes like human trafficking and terrorism.
Najib, who was accorded an official welcoming ceremony at the Parliament House forecourt during his visit, held a meeting with his Australian counterpart, Julia Gillard, in Canberra where both leaders committed to intensify cooperation in a wide spectrum.
On his meeting with Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott, Najib, who described it as very well, said the opposition seemed supportive of Gillard's government to enhance ties with Malaysia.
Earlier, Najib had a roundtable meeting with more than 20 captains of industry in Australia where he informed them of the transformation programmes being initiated in Malaysia and the huge investment opportunities available
Many Australia-based companies expressed keen interest to increase investments in Malaysia after they were shown the opportunities under the government's Economic Transformation Plan (ETP).
"They are very keen to increase their investments in Malaysia after I explained to them our Economic Transformation Plan, the extent of investments we need. They expressed interest to increase investments in certain sectors," he told Malaysian journalists.
Some 200 companies with Australian interests are currently operating in Malaysia.
As at Dec 31, last year, Australian investments in Malaysia totalled US$715.7 million (RM2.19 billion). Companies with investments in Malaysia include Ansell, ANZ, Leighton, Rio Tinto, Bluescope Steel and Ryco Hydraulics.
Najib, who was conferred with a Doctor of Letters of Law Honoris Causa by Australia's renowned academic institution Monash University, also said education would continue to be the most important area of cooperation between Malaysia and Australia.
"The early interactions between Malaysian students and their Australian counterparts have contributed to the strong people-to-people relations, leading to close bilateral relations between two countries," he said in his acceptance speech when receiving the special honour at the university here.
Najib said the Higher Education Ministry hoped to ink a memorandum of understanding with Australia in the field of higher education, among others, to allow "credit transfer" to enable Australian students to pursue studies in Malaysia.
He said this would help increase the number of Australian students in Malaysia, currently numbering 100. — Bernama