RIYADH, 24 August — Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki, governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) will be the keynote speaker at a high-profile conference on Saudi economy to be held in Malaysia next month.
This is the first business event of its kind to be hosted by Malaysia especially after Saudi Arabia introduced new investment regulations.
"The two-day conference, to be inaugurated on Sept. 24 in Kuala Lumpur, is significant keeping in view the growing prospects of international investments in the Kingdom", said a statement released by the CWC Associates Ltd., organizers of the event. This conference will explain new opportunities in oil and gas sectors, major privatization initiatives, opportunities in the field of mineral resources, project financing and ways to access infrastructure and resources in the six-nation Gulf market.
Also, senior Saudi policy makers and corporate heads will be on hand to discuss the many other opportunities in different sectors existing in the Kingdom. They will brief participants about specific growth industries in Saudi Arabia, new sectors of investment and features of the Saudi labor market. This interactive conference will also provide an effective forum to discuss a range of other investment and business topics in the context of Asia-Pacific region.
Saudi participants have been drawn from several prestigious organizations like SAGIA, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), Saudi British Bank, National Industrialization Company (NIC), Saudi International Petrochemical Company (SIPC), Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Ericsson of Saudi Arabia, Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and Saudi Geological Society.
Referring to the progressively growing Saudi-Malaysian business relations, the statement said that this event will raise the profile of bilateral relations further. On the commercial front, Saudi Arabia has emerged as the largest trading partner of Malaysia in West Asia after the UAE.
Two-way trade, in the region of SR2 billion annually, has been increasing over the years. It is predicted that Saudi-Malaysian trade is poised for further growth especially as Malaysia is now well on the way to become a full-fledged industrialized nation.
Saudi investments in Malaysia, however, has been very modest so far. Malaysian investments in the Kingdom have also been very meagre. Of late, Saudi and Malaysian businessmen have evinced keen interest in several joint projects. Some projects have already been identified by the two countries. Malaysia has also joined the Organization of Islamic Shipowners Association (OISA), thus boosting cooperation in maritime sector with Saudi Arabia and other member nations of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, both important OIC member states, have forged closer relations in almost all sectors. Both countries are also seeking to expand relations in culture and tourism sectors especially after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US, which led to a sharp decrease in tourism traffic between the US and Gulf states.
Malaysia has cashed in on this opportunity by attracting hundreds of thousands of Saudi and Gulf tourists during the summer season. The Kingdom is also considering options to enroll Saudi students in some Malaysian universities as thousands of students have returned from the US after the terror attacks. Currently, there are over 100 Malaysian students on the rolls of Saudi universities. This is in addition to several religious programs conducted jointly. Malaysian judges and students have been participating in Qur’an recitation contests organized by the Kingdom every year.
