Qatar Tribune / AILYN AGONIA 22 Jan 2009
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lauded the strong bilateral ties between Qatar and his country.
Addressing a press conference at The Ritz-Carlton hotel here on Wednesday, Badawi credited the improved relations between the two countries to the strong presence of Malaysian companies in Qatar, which are playing a major role in the fields of construction and infrastructure.
Badawi praised the Malaysian community for its active participation in the economic growth of Qatar, particularly their contribution in the ongoing new Doha International Airport project. “I amhappy with the contribution of Malaysian expatriates and institutions to the growth of Qatar.
“I had the opportunity to visit the new Doha International Airport which is one of the biggest projects in Qatar involving a major Malaysian construction company. The progress of the project is as impressive as other infrastructure ventures we have here,” he said. He also recognised the effort of Malaysian expatriates in Qatar in several other areas. Badawi said that Malaysia intended to increase the volume of trade to Qatar and hoped that Qatar would do the same.
He spoke of the possibility of collaboration between Malaysia and Qatar in the promotion of Islamic banking and finance to achieve higher volume of trade. He said, “With a view to increasing the trade volume between Qatar and Malaysia, both countries think it is necessary to begin work together and cooperate to establish common standards and practices for all Islamic banks in the Muslim world. We see this beneficial for Islamic banks operating even in non-Muslim countries. It was suggested that a forum be organised to discuss this matter.” Badawi further emphasised his government’s intentions of cooperating in investment in Gulf countries in the area of culture and food industry.
He shared that they have already submitted proposals to the Qatari government about further cooperation in other sectors and looks forward to the similar interest of Qatar to these ventures.
Badawi also shared his sentiments on various international issues including the impact of the global financial crisis, the inauguration of Barack Obama as the new US president and the Gaza invasion.
He maintained that Malaysia remains resilient despite the financial crisis, which has already put so many nations in an economic quagmire. He cited the strong banking sector and government-initiated programmes as their major mechanisms in coping with the problem.
“Aside from having a strong banking sector, we have taken steps to ensure that our economy is fully strengthened by encouraging more domestic consumption. We are encouraging Malaysians to patronise our own products to keep our manufacturing sector active. We have also launched a social-safety net programme to attend to the needs of the lower income groups,” Badawi said.
On the issue of Obama’s inauguration as the new US president, Badawi said that Malaysian government is looking forward to working with him and also hopes that Obama would take firm action on the issues he highlighted in his inaugural speech.
He particularly lauded Obama’s readiness to talk to Islamic countries to better understand the problems faced by them. “America is responsible for many problems facing the world.
Obama promised for a new America and to listen to all voices. We look forward to the day it starts listening to the voices of small nations,” he said.
On the issues of Gaza aggression, he said, “The sooner the two factions Hamas and Fatah unite and work together again, the better it will be for the future of Palestine,” he said.