| Staff Reporter
MALAYSIA is interested in developing trade and economic relations with Qatar, a visiting minister has said. Addressing a seminar on ?Malaysia-Qatar Business Opportunities,? Malaysia?s Minister of International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz said, ?Malaysia looks forward to enhancing and strengthening its existing trade and economic relations with Qatar?.
Malaysia?s trade with Qatar continued to register strong growth in 2006, with the total trade increasing by 77.3% to $265.8mn from $149.5mn. Exports rose by 94.3% to $186.1mn from $95.8mn in 2005, she said.
Major exports consisted of electrical and electronic products, machinery, appliances and parts, wood products, and iron and steel products.
Imports from Qatar, valued at $79.8mn in 2006, registered an increase of 47.5%. Imports were dominated by two items - crude petroleum (68.7%) and chemicals and chemical products (30.2%).
Bilateral trade could further be enhanced to cover a wider range of products and services, the minister said.
Malaysia could supply products which included telecommunication equipment, furniture, processed food, household electrical and non-electrical products and rubber products.
Inviting Qatari businessmen to invest in Malaysia, Rafidah Aziz said, ?Malaysia is an open, broad-based and competitive economy?. In 2006, it recorded a GDP growth of 5.9%, ?underpinned by strong consumer sentiment and continued business
confidence?.
The minister expressed her confidence that Qatari-Malaysian collaboration ?can be further enhanced through joint participation in key areas in Qatar such as construction and facilities management, oil and gas, Islamic financing and insurance?.
In Qatar, Malaysia participated in the design and building of the airfield paving tunnel and detention ponds for the New Doha International Airport, she said.
The Islamic financial sector was another area that offered potential for participation and collaboration, Rafidah Aziz said.
In addition, the government was also actively promoting offshore financing. The Labuan International Offshore Financial Centre offered a wide range of financial products and services, she added.
Malaysia was also fast becoming a regional headquarters for oil and gas companies, the minister stated. ?In this sector, Malaysian companies are keen to collaborate with companies in Qatar in areas where they have expertise and have been successful in export?.
The Malaysian embassy in Doha, the Malaysian Trade Commissioner in Dubai, and the director of Tourism Malaysia in Dubai could offer any help, Rafidah Aziz said.
Earlier, undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce HE Abdullah K al-Qahtani said Qatar had passed a free trade law and was doing its best to galvanise business in the country. Currently, the government was the main driver of the economy but he hoped the private sector too would have a great role.
Treasurer and senior director of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mohamed bin Tawar al-Kuwari hoped the mission would achieve its objectives and the seminar would help the private sectors of both the countries. The chamber was willing to offer ?all possible help?.
Malaysian Ambassador Dato Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari attended the seminar, along with Jalilah Baba, deputy director general of Malaysian Industrial Development Authority, and Noharuddin Nordin, CEO of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation.
They are accompanied by a 100-strong delegation from the public and private sectors. The delegation leaves Qatar tomorrow. | 
