KUALA LUMPUR: British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay said the change of the United Kingdom’s prime minister will not affect the country’s longstanding relationship with Malaysia.
“Nor will it change the work that we do in Malaysia.
“For example, in strengthening bilateral trade and investment and supporting Malaysia in its reform agenda.
“In addition, the UK also sees Malaysia as an important partner in Asean and in the Commonwealth.
“We will continue to engage Malaysia to build on the breadth and depth of our relationship,” he said.
Trade with the UK totalled £4.8 billion (RM19.78 billion) last year, while the value of UK foreign direct investment stock in Malaysia reached £3.2 billion last year.
Large UK companies investing in Malaysia include HSBC, Standard Chartered, Tesco, Dyson, BAE Systems, Prudential Assurance, Mott MacDonald and Glaxo-SmithKline Pharmaceutical.
Malaysian companies are also major investors in the property sector in London, as seen in the Battersea Power Station development project.
Education ties form a key pillar in the Malaysia-UK bilateral relationship.
More than 18,000 Malaysians study in the UK yearly.
British universities also have a large presence in Malaysia, with five of them opening branch campuses in Malaysia.