Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Evening,
Let me begin by conveying my deep appreciation to the organizers, in particular Ms. Adlina Borhan, Director Tourism Malaysia, for inviting me to say a few words this evening in conjunction with the ?Taste of Malaysia? event being held in this great city of Paris.
2. Beginning today until Friday at Sofitel, the ?Taste of Malaysia? is a modest celebration of food, arts and culture. Together with Malaysia Airlines and Sofitel Champs Elysee, the organizers have brought Malaysia on a plate to the Parisiens and other visitors.
3. The two chefs who have flew in from Kuala Lumpur are in charge of one of the fine Malaysian restaurants there and you can be rest assured of the best of Malaysian food.
4. This initiative by Tourism Malaysia with the assistance of Malaysia Airlines is exceptionally timely, because this year Malaysia celebrates 50 years of its independence. It is also 50 years of the establishment of Malaysia-France relations. France was one of the 16 countries with which Malaysia established relations immediately upon our independence, underscoring the historical nature of our relationship.
5. Particularly for the benefit of all of you here tonight, I wish to point out that in conjunction with our 50th Anniversary, Malaysia is also organizing Visit Malaysia Year which runs through 2007 until 2008. And I do hope that you would be able to visit Malaysia soon.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
6. There is a saying that ?to win someone?s heart is through his or her stomach?. France is the global capital for exquisite dining while Paris is the city of love. And it is to this vibrant city, that we have come to promote Malaysian gastronomy.
7. We believe that we have a wealth of food to enrich everyone?s plate, from the lofty to the sublime and from the savoury to the spicy. Indeed our world famous slogan ?Malaysia Truly Asia? reflects not just the mélange of people and cultures but the rich diversity of food as well.
8. I am confident that the food exhibition this week will titillate your taste buds and hopefully, inspire your interest to visit Malaysia. I do hope that those of you here who have not visited Malaysia will avail of the fantastic opportunities for visitors from all over the world to Malaysia. Malaysians are hospitable people and historically, we have been engaging people from different parts of the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
9. Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank the Pahang State Government, in particular the Honorable Datuk Maznah Mazlan, State Executive Councillor for Culture, Arts, Tourism and Women Development and Family for arranging for the cultural troupe. Pahang is the biggest state within Peninsula Malaysia and is blessed with bountiful natural resources and blessed with some of the world?s oldest forests, intriguing islands and beautiful beaches. Pahang also been made more famous by Club Mediterrane situated at the Cherating beach, near Kuantan, the capital of Pahang.
10. If you wish to continue to savour our delicacies after the ?Taste of Malaysia? promotion at the end of this week, I wish to take this opportunity to inform you that from 25 June until the end of the month, the Honourable Minister of Domestic Trade of Malaysia would be promoting Malaysian food products at Carrefour in Ivry, which are all part of our concerted efforts to introduce and promote Malaysian delicacies as well as food products to France.
11. Before I end, I would also like to thank Monsieur Michel Fernet, the Managing Director of Sofitel Champs Elysee and his Operations team in supporting our promotion.
12. With these words, let me wish you a pleasant and enjoyable evening at this reception.
Thank you.
