MALAYSIA KEEN TO BOOST TIES WITH KINGDOM ENVOY

The Jordan Times Newspaper
By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN - Malaysia is looking to boost cooperation with Jordan in the tourism sector by launching joint programmes to increase the exchange of visitors between the two countries, according to Malaysia's envoy in Amman.

Promotional activities, such as road shows, cultural activities and food fairs, can help increase the number of tourists travelling between the two countries, Malaysian Ambassador in Amman Dato Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

According to figures from the Malaysian embassy, 7,087 Jordanians travelled to Malaysia in 2008, an increase of 36.4 per cent compared to 2007 when the figure stood at 5,196 while arrivals from Malaysia in 2008 numbered approximately 4,000.

The diplomat also called for direct flights between the two countries, noting that this would help increase trade volume and tourist flow.

The ambassador also called for boosting bilateral cooperation in the economic field, noting that Jordan can benefit from Malaysia's membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to penetrate the markets of organisation member states.

"Malaysia has experience with the ASEAN member states and Jordan can benefit from this experience in increasing trade with these countries that are emerging economies," he noted.

Established in August 1967 in Bangkok, ASEAN's goal was to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region that is today populated by more than 560 million.

The five founding countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, were later joined by Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The ambassador also called on both countries' private sectors to exchange visits and explore new opportunities for cooperation, saying such endeavours would help increase the trade volume between Jordan and Malaysia, which in 2008 stood at $634.75 million and was in favour of the Southeast Asian country.

Malaysia's top five exports to Jordan last year were palm oil, wood products, manufactured metal, electrical and electronic products and processed food, while its major imports from Jordan were chemical products and potash, according to the embassy.

In the interview, the ambassador stressed that Malaysia and Jordan, which established ties in 1965, enjoy excellent bilateral relations, exemplified by the close cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

He also highlighted the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), under which Malaysia has extended technical assistance to Jordan. Since 1981, 248 senior Jordanian government officials have participated in various courses offered under the MTCP.

13 August 2009