Interview to
H.E. CHUAH TEONG BAN
Ambassador of Malaysia
by VIP Diplomática Magazine
When did you assume office in Peru?
I arrived in Peru on 2nd February, now it would be 5 months. This is the first time I’m visiting and working in Latin America.
How are the bilateral relations between Peru and Malaysia developing?
The relations between Peru and Malaysia started 30 years ago and this year we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Bilateral Relations between Peru and Malaysia. Throughout all these years, there has been a lot of progress in the bilateral relations, there have been visits at the highest level, especially back in the 90’s when the diplomatic relations started. In the last years, the visits have been more at the ministerial level. As for the trade, it has kept on developing for the past 20 years, even increasing from 3 to 4%.
The economy between Peru and Malaysia is pretty similar, both countries export agricultural products, because agriculture is the pillar of both economies, as well as mineral extractions. For Malaysia, the manufacturing industry is very important for the economy, as well as the services, that is the reason why Malaysia works hard on tourism.
Among the main products that Malaysia exports to Peru are manufactured goods, for instance electronic products, auto parts, furniture, and even rubber products such as condoms and gloves.
Could you mention some tourist places in Malaysia?
Both Malaysia and Peru have beautiful tourist places, a very similar and interesting market to offer to tourists. Perhaps the emphasis that Malaysia puts on tourism is more related to leisure and luxury, it is more centred on sunsets, beaches, and shopping. We have shops where you can buy duty-free products, such as computers, perfumes, winter clothes, cell phones. As for sports, Malaysia focuses on golf, because the cost of playing golf in Malaysia in much lower than in other countries. We also have ecotourism, some adventure and different attractive sites that might be appealing to tourists.
What goals have you set for your administration?
First of all, I have arrived in Peru in a very important year when Malaysia and Peru celebrate 30 years of bilateral relations. For that reason, one of my objectives is to promote visits at the highest level. Back in the 90’s former President Fujimori made 3 visits to Malaysia, one for work, the second one was an official visit, and the last one for the APEC Summit. Now, the Prime Minister of Malaysia will participate in the APEC Summit in Peru. Also, some Malaysian diplomats will come to Peru and we hope Peruvian ministers visit Malaysia to foster and strengthen our relations, and also to learn from each other’s experiences regarding free market.
Another objective would be promoting the contact between both countries. The number of tourists from Peru is still very low, approximately 1,500. However, it could increase because today travelling is much easier, therefore it should also be easier to travel from Peru to Malaysia and vice versa.
The third objective is increasing bilateral trade and apply the TPP, which is still to be ratified. The TPP will help improve trade between both countries and find greater investment, as the objective of the TPP is to innovate and promote further trade.
Finally, the fourth objective would be to share the culture of Malaysia with Peruvians, share government experiences in order to have a better environment for investors to come to Peru.
As for education, does Malaysia offer any scholarships to Peruvian Students?
Regarding education, Malaysia has granted scholarships for short courses through the “Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme”, which offers scholarships for Peruvian officers to share their experiences and knowledge. These scholarships have been granted since 1996 and an approximate of 50 Peruvian officers from different levels have had the chance to take this courses for a couple of weeks or months in Malaysia.
Message from H.E. Ambassador of Malaysia
I would like to address all the readers of VIP Magazine to share with you that Malaysia is a country that is working to become a developed country by 2020. Malaysia has gone through various processes of transformation and reform of its public administration and we would like to share that experience with other interested countries. We believe in free market. We depend on the global market. For this reason, I would like to invite businessmen to work in Malaysia because we have an investment-friendly environment.