Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's three-day official visit to Qatar has proven to be fruitful as both the countries will continue to strengthen bilateral relations to achieve mutual goals and interests.

Among the topics that were discussed are efforts to increase investment, flourish bilateral trade and potential for collaboration in an array of sectors, namely the halal industry, Islamic banking and renewable energy.

Post-Pandemic Cooperation

In terms of post-pandemic cooperation, the two countries have agreed to officially recognise each other’s Covid-19 vaccination certificates as part of the two countries’ post-pandemic recovery efforts. On top of that, both countries also agreed to integrate (Malaysia’s) MySejahtera and (Qatar’s) Ehteraz applications.

Malaysia-Qatar Economic Cooperation

The Prime Minister said that the trade value in the first two months of this year showed an increase of 30.9% to RM610 million, compared with RM470 million for the same period last year.

“I am also grateful that Qatar has chosen Malaysia as a major investment destination in Southeast Asia, especially in the real estate and services sectors.

“Until now, the value of Qatar’s investment in Malaysia exceeds US$3.2 billion (RM13.49 billion),” he said at a press conference with the Malaysian media at the end of his three-day official visit to Qatar.

Ismail Sabri said during his meeting with the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, after the official reception at the Amiri Diwan, both sides had agreed to hold further discussions to determine the investment target to be achieved within two years.

“Taking into account the opening of the border between the two countries and the transition phase to endemic, I believe Malaysia and Qatar should take the opportunity to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially the halal industry, food, Islamic banking, renewable energy, as well as oil and gas,” he said.

Baladna cattle farm and dairy production facility

The Prime Minister said his visit to the Baladna cattle farm and dairy production facility had enabled a memorandum of cooperation signed in 2019 for Baladna to be a partner of Felda Global Ventures (FGV) and Felcra in a large-scale dairy farm joint venture project in Malaysia to be finalised by the latest this June.

“The strategic collaboration between Baladna, FGV and Felcra involves an investment of US$500 million (RM2.1 billion) for the development of a large-scale dairy project in Chuping, Perlis.

“This investment will create more than 2,000 jobs and increase the competitiveness of the local dairy industry,” he said.

Building investment opportunities in Qatar

Ismail Sabri said during his meeting with Sheikh Tamim, Malaysia also presented some proposals to explore investment opportunities in Qatar from Malaysian companies.

Among them are the North Field Expansion project, which spans three phases. The other two proposals were for Malaysia to be made the flight hub for Qatar Airways to fly to ASEAN countries and for Qatar to import more palm oil from Malaysia as an alternative to sunflower oil.

International Cooperation: UN and international organisations

In terms of cooperation internationally, Malaysia and Qatar are determined to strengthen cooperation on international platforms. Regarding the problems faced in Palestine, Malaysia and Qatar are in a unanimous stance. Both countries agreed that the Palestinian people should be given their due rights.

At the press conference, Ismail Sabri also recorded his appreciation of Qatar’s commitment to host the 14th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) next year.

“WIEF has the potential to help the business community, especially in the Muslim countries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.