PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has called on all Malaysian heads of diplomatic missions to be more creative in attracting foreign investors back to Malaysia.
He said Malaysia should be more perceptive in exploring and attracting investments from other countries.
This, he said, is especially important during a time when the world is actively looking for stable investment destinations post-Covid-19 pandemic.
"At the same time, you need to focus on opening market opportunities to export Malaysian products.
"Some specific areas such as trade, education and agriculture need to be given a comprehensive assessment to ensure that Malaysia is always on the right track, and does not fall behind in the dynamic global development and current challenges.
"I would like to call on all heads of diplomatic missions to apply a more creative approach in an effort to attract more foreign investors to Malaysia," he said.
Ismail Sabri said this in his speech when officiating the ninth Heads of Mission Conference (HOMC9) at the Foreign Ministry here today.
He said, based on his recent visits abroad, there was a clear indication that other countries are interested in strengthening their relations as well as enhancing cooperation with Malaysia.
Therefore, he said, Malaysian diplomatic missions should always be ready to play an active role so that Malaysia's relations with other countries can be upgraded.
"Inter-agency integrated cooperation is key to ensure that foreign investments into the country will continue to flow as this will help the country's economic recovery process.
"In this context at the level of the Malaysian diplomatic representation, the comprehensive guidelines under the operation of the Malaysian Government Administration System abroad must be followed.
"We must always move in an integrated manner and abandon the outdated practice of working in silos."
In his speech, Ismail Sabri also announced that the government would increase the monthly allowance for civil servants serving abroad with effect from Jan 1, 2023.
"The government has agreed to increase the monthly allowance for civil servants serving abroad who master and use a foreign language in carrying out their official duties, effective Jan 1, 2023," he said.