Malaysia is keen to further strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia, especially in trade and investment for mutual benefits, said Dato' Syed Omar Al-Saggaf, Ambassador of Malaysia to the Kingdom. Extending warm greetings and best wishes to all Malaysian nationals in Saudi Arabia on the occasion of Malaysia's 53rd National Day, he said in a statement published today by Arab News that the two countries have many common elements underpinning our strong and sound relations. "The official visit made by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak in January this year marks the pinnacle of our excellent rapport and Malaysia is greatly indebted to the government of Saudi Arabia for the warm hospitality you extended to our leader which had consequentially contributed greatly to the success of the visit. We appreciate Saudi Arabia's willingness to open doors for Malaysian companies to invest here. It is our earnest hope that more Malaysian companies will be invited to explore more opportunities in other areas in the near future." "I am pleased to note that our bilateral trade has increased in recent years. Saudi Arabia has emerged as Malaysia's top trading partner in the Middle East region with total trade for 2009 standing at SR7.8 billion (US$2 billion). Toward this end, we would like to encourage the private sectors from both sides to work more closely together to enhance trade and investment relations," he added. --MORE
