Delegation from Sarawak
The chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, welcomed HE Right Honorable YAB Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Bin Mahmoud, Chief Minister of Sarawak, Malaysia and the accompanying delegation at QBA office, during his visit to Doha to take part in the Inside Investor Forum Asia 2012, that was organized by the Qatari Businessmen Association under the patronage of HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the State of Qatar, and in cooperation with the Inside Investor.
H.E. Right Honorable YAB Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Bin Mahmoud thanked Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim for the efforts exerted by the association to achieve the objectives of the Forum, by creating an opportunity to the businessmen in the GCC and Southeast Asia to meet, share knowledge, and discuss investment opportunities between the two sides.
Rich with fertile agricultural land that has not yet been invested, the Chief Minister identified the investment opportunities that are available in Sarawak, in addition to many other opportunities in the food industry, where Sarawak for example, is using a special technique for the extraction of gelatin from fish.
Moreover, the Malaysian government has dedicated the next five years to support the development of the heavy industry in the province, and despite the fact that the tourism sector in Sarawak is not well established yet, but it is an attractive area for tourists for its beautiful areas and landscape.
On his side, Sheikh Faisal welcomed the delegation, thanked them for their interest in the Qatari market, and stressing on the role of the Qatari Businessmen Association to provide assistance and advice to all Malaysian companies and businessmen that are interested in working in Qatar.
Highlighting the Qatari businessmen interests in investing in countries that apply easy regulations, Sheikh Faisal also noted that the importance of this visit is providing a platform to expose investment opportunities between the Qatar and Malaysia, through which the Malaysian companies can submit business proposals and study projects that are of interest to the private sector in Qatar or the GCC, in the aim of ensuring the success of this visit.
QBA chairman also expressed the hope to strengthen economic relations and development in various fields between Malaysia and the Gulf States, and suggested organizing a delegation of businessmen to visit Sarawak and study opportunities on the ground. Since the State of Qatar is working on diversifying the local economy away from the oil and gas sectors, hence it is also abundant with investment opportunities.
At the end of the meeting, the Right Honorable YAB Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Bin Mahmoud thanked Sheikh Faisal hosting them, and stressed that the Sarawak government will work intensively to facilitate doing business for investors, and find quick solutions to all the problems that may face Qatari and GCC investors in Sarawak.
Sarawak is one of the largest states in Malaysia, with many rain forests, mountains, caves and marine life and wild, and famous for its handicrafts industries and agricultural activities and wood products, textiles handicrafts. The economy is highly dependent on the agricultural sector and the oil and natural gas, which account for nearly half of the country’s GDP.
It is worth mentioning that the economic relations between the Gulf countries and Asian countries have grown significantly in recent years, thus increasing the value of total trade between the two sides from U.S. $ 67.33 billion in 2009 to 83.25 billion dollars in 2010, an increase of% 23.64. Additionally Asia's exports reached 20.13 billion dollars, while imports amounted to $ 63.12 billion.