KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is looking to foster greater cooperation with United Arab Emirates (UAE) towards a stronger and more resilient economic recovery following Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement by Foreign Ministry, the meeting between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan yesterday saw both ministers' satisfaction with the current state of bilateral relations between Malaysia and the UAE.
Hishammuddin's visit to the UAE yesterday was at the invitation of Sheikh Abdullah.
Both ministers also discussed important initiatives under four priority areas of cooperation in the post-pandemic era, namely trade and investments, agriculture and food security, health, and diplomatic exchanges.
The UAE is one of Malaysia's main trading partners with total trade recorded in 2019 valued at USD6.43 billion.
"The UAE is also Malaysia's largest export destination and second-largest source of import in the West Asia region."
"Given Malaysia's strategic location in the Southeast Asian region, Malaysia is committed to being the gateway for the UAE to enter the Southeast Asian market, which is home to over 650 million people," the statement added.
Hishammuddin is scheduled to return today and will undergo mandatory Covid-19 quarantine as prescribed by the Health Ministry.