KUALA LUMPUR: International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking will lead a trade and investment mission to Australia on August 19–23.
The mission comprises officials from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti), Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), InvestKL Corporation and EXIM Bank.
In a statement yesterday, Miti said Darell is scheduled to meet with Andrew Barr, Chief Minister of Australian Capital Territory in Canberra.
In conjunction with the mission, the 18th Joint Trade Commission (JTC) Meeting will be held on August 20, to be co-chaired by Darell and his counterpart, Simon Birmingham, Australia’s Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment.
The meeting will be held to discuss bilateral trade and investment issues and opportunities for further collaborations.
Darell and the delegates will also be visiting the University of South Australia (UniSA), Mawson Lakes Campus to gain an insight on UniSA Industry 4.0 Lab Space and MARii’s projects — the Light Weight Plastic Glazing Project and the Hard Coating Project (flow coating).
Additionally, the minister will be visiting the Swinburne University of Technology’s Advanced Manufacturing Industry 4.0 Hub, also known as the ‘Factory of the Future’ for being the first ever fully-immersed Industry 4.0 facility in Australia.
He will also be meeting with prominent business groups in sectors such as food and beverages, healthcare, machinery, Halal hub and aged care centre.
During his visit, Darell will connect with strategic partners during a seminar on ‘Business & Investment Opportunities in Malaysia as the Gateway to Asean’.
In 2018, Australia was Malaysia’s 11th largest overall global trading partner, with total trade between both countries recorded at RM55.13 billion (US$13.11 billion).
Malaysia’s exports to Australia stood at RM33.55 billion (US$7.98 billion) and imports at RM21.58 billion (US$5.13 billion) last year.
In terms of investments, 350 manufacturing projects were implemented with total investments of RM2.79 billion (US$660 million).
The projects created 22,626 jobs in Malaysia in key manufacturing sectors such as chemical-based products, petroleum-based products and rubber-based products. – Bernama
