Latest news with #RM50.91bil
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Anwar departs for a series of high-level meetings
Heading abroad: Anwar at KLIA departing for official visits to Italy, France and Brazil from July 1 to 7. — Bernama SEPANG: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is on a series of visits to three countries, starting with Italy, followed by France and Brazil. The chartered Malaysia Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister and his delegation departed KL International Airport at 2.15pm yesterday. His three-day official trip to Italy is part of Malaysia's ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and promote economic cooperation at the global level. The visits to the major economic hubs of Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro aim to strengthen Malaysia's diplomatic ties and trade relations with the respective nations, Bernama reported. The three markets collectively recorded bilateral trade valued at RM50.91bil last year. Anwar is accompanied by a business delegation comprising representatives from major Malaysian corporations and innovative enterprises, including PETRONAS, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Maybank, FGV, YTL Power, and Sunway. The Prime Minister's inaugural visit to Italy is at the invitation of his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni. Malaysian Ambassador to Italy Datuk Zahid Rastam said the visit was expected to further strengthen bilateral relations across a wide range of sectors. In Rome, Anwar will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir. In Paris, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron. Their discussions will focus on trade, technology and education sectors. Besides the roundtable with France's industry giants, Anwar will engage with local Muslim leaders, meet Malaysian citizens in France and deliver a public lecture at Sorbonne University on Friday. After Paris, Anwar will head to Rio de Janeiro to attend the 17th BRICS Summit on the invitation of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Malaysia's role as a BRICS Partner Country and Asean Chair for 2025 will emphasise the importance of multilateralism based on law, governance of artificial intelligence, climate action and global health, representing the aspirations of over 650 million Asean citizens. Anwar will attend the BRICS Summit as a partner country in the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, among others.
Asia News Network
4 days ago
- Business
- Asia News Network
Malaysia PM Anwar begins week-long trade trip to Italy, France and Brazil
KUALA LUMPUR – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will embark on a week-long tour covering three major economic hubs – Italy, France and Brazil – to bolster economic, trade and strategic ties, according to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Prime Minister's senior press secretary Tunku Nashrul Abaidah said the official visits, from July 1 to 7, will include high-level meetings with counterparts in Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, with the three markets collectively recording bilateral trade worth RM50.91bil last year. Anwar and his delegation, which includes senior officials and a business delegation, will travel via a chartered Malaysia Airlines flight. 'The government hopes a series of high-level meetings in Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro will strengthen friendships, boost trade and open up new opportunities for Malaysians and the Asean community,' he said during the PMO's daily briefing. In the Italian capital, the Prime Minister will hold a one-on-one meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the Chigi Palace. The meeting will provide an opportunity for both leaders to take stock of the current state of Malaysia-Italy relations and explore avenues to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in the fields of economy, defence technology and energy. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the Asean-Italy Development Partnership, Asean-European Union Dialogue Relations and the situation in the Middle East. As Asean Chair for 2025, the Prime Minister will also highlight Malaysia's priorities and the regional grouping's efforts in addressing regional and global challenges. Anwar will also officiate the Malaysia-Italy Economic Partnership Roundtable, bringing together industry leaders from both Malaysia and Italy to explore opportunities for trade and investment collaboration. He is also scheduled to meet leaders of the local Muslim community and engage with the Malaysian diaspora in Italy. In Paris, Anwar is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss various issues, including trade, technology and education, said Tunku Nashrul. 'In addition to a business roundtable meeting with major French industry players, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to deliver a public lecture at Sorbonne University on July 4,' he said. In Rio de Janeiro, Anwar will attend the BRICS Summit on the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. 'Malaysia's participation as a BRICS partner country and Asean chairman in 2025 will focus on international laws, the governance of artificial intelligence, and climate, among others,' Tunku Nashrul said. Malaysia officially attained BRICS partner country status on Jan 1. Tunku Nashrul said the Prime Minister will be accompanied by several Cabinet ministers and a business delegation comprising corporate giants and innovative Malaysian enterprises. 'Some of these companies are already operating and have business interests in Italy, France or Brazil. Others are exploring new investment opportunities to expand their global networks,' he said. On how the business delegation was chosen, Tunku Nashrul said the selection was managed by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti), following approval from the Prime Minister. 'This is an established practice through the involvement of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), which act as facilitators for Malaysian and foreign companies to pursue investments or joint ventures, particularly through business roundtable meetings with industry leaders in the countries visited,' he said. Among the companies that will be part of the delegation are Khazanah, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Maybank, CIMB, AirAsia, Sunway and Weststar. Tunku Nashrul said the decision to use a chartered flight instead of a government aircraft was made to ensure greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness. 'Given the tightly packed itinerary across three countries, the chartered flight enables the delegation to minimise long transit times and make the most of their time on the ground. It is also more economical than operating a full government aircraft for the duration of the trip. 'Travelling on the same flight will ensure punctual attendance of both government and business delegates at all scheduled meetings and engagement sessions,' he said.
Focus Malaysia
4 days ago
- Politics
- Focus Malaysia
Of PMX leaving country amid judiciary quandary, accusing M'sians of politicising Tengku Maimun's service extension
'ISN'T the timing of PMX's trip abroad coinciding with the appointment of a new Chief Justice?' Such was the question posed on the Facebook page of a former New Straits Times (NST) journalist as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim slammed alleged attempts to lobby the government into extending Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat's tenure which ends today (July 1) by another six months. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) announced yesterday (June 30) that PMX will embark on a week-long tour from July 1 (today) to 7 which covers three major economic hubs, namely Italy, France and Brazil, to bolster economic, trade and strategic ties. The official visit will include high-level meetings with PMX's counterparts in Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro with the three markets collectively recording bilateral trade of RM50.91bil in 2024, according to senior press secretary to the Prime Minister Tunku Nashrul Abaidah. Whether the timing of PMX's latest overseas trip is a coincidence or otherwise was questioned by a commenter to the NST's ex-journo FB post who pointed out that the 'same thing happened when the new AG was roped in and Zahid got his freedom'. Recall that PMX was in Jakarta from Sept 5-7, 2023 to attend the 43rd ASEAN Summit which was the day after the Kuala Lumpur High Court accorded a discharged not amounting to acquittal (DNAA) to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Sept 4, 2023). The DNAA collectively 'cleared' the UMNO president from all 47 charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), corruption and money laundering in relation to the Yayasan Akalbudi funds. Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah made the ruling after allowing Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar's application to DNAA Ahmad Zahid after the prosecution decided to halt the case as they wanted to investigate the case more in depth. On Nov 11 last year when Dasuki was made the Attorney-General, PMX was not in town having earlier embarked on a four-day official visit to Cairo from Nov 9-12 at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. He also attended the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit on the escalating violence by the Zionist regime on Palestinians and Lebanese before extending his globe-trotting feat to Peru (Nov 12-16) and later to Brazil (Nov 16-19) to attend the 2024 G20 Rio de Janeiro summit. Rafizi schools PMX Earlier, former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has rubbished PMX's politicisation claim given that concerns expressed by the legal fraternity and Malaysians at large over the extension of Tengku Maimun's tenure and that of Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim are justified. 'They're not political or seeking to politicise the appointment of judges (which has its own processes),' argued the former economy minister in a media statement which has earned wide applauses after Malaysians at large blasted PMX for turning defensive on the matter. 'It's a reasonable thing to do considering the current situation where the vacancy of more than half of the Federal Court judges will slow down the progress of court cases.' The Pandan MP who can now voice his opinion with no restriction having left the government further stressed that PMX cannot dismiss the concerns of legal practitioners simply by assuming that this issue is a political attack. 'This polemic began with legal practitioners' concerns that the next leadership of the judiciary will change to someone who is directly appointed to the Federal Court,' he justified. 'With more than half of the senior judges in the Federal Court vacant, the question arises whether the direct appointment (of a judge to the Federal Court) is part of a plan to bypass the seniority list of existing judges and change the leadership of the judiciary for the next eight years given that he (the appointed judge) will only reach mandatory retirement in 2033?' As it is, the on-going judiciary controversy has worsened the state of trust deficit on the Madani government with 'double standards' having emerged in other key appointments. 'When the service of MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki was extended three times in a row and Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ayob Khan was not appointed as the new IGP, of course the rumour mill will kick into full; gear,' added Rafizi. – July 1, 2025 Main image credit: Badan Kehakiman Malaysia | The Malaysian Judiciary/Facebook; Anwar Ibrahim/Facebook
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Anwar making week-long official visit to Italy, France and Brazil
PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will embark on a week-long tour from July 1 to 7 covering three major economic hubs, namely Italy, France and Brazil, to bolster economic, trade and strategic ties, says the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The senior press secretary to the Prime Minister Tunku Nashrul Abaidah said the official visit will include high-level meetings to meet Anwar's counterparts in Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, with the three markets collectively recording bilateral trade of RM50.91bil in 2024. Anwar and his delegation, which includes senior officials and a business delegation, will travel via a chartered Malaysia Airlines flight. "The Madani government places high hopes that the series of high level meetings in Rome, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro, will strengthen friendships, boost trades and open up new opportunities to benefit Malaysians and the Asean community," he said during the Prime Minister's Office daily briefing on Monday (June 30). In Rome, Tunku Nashrul said Anwar would hold a one-on-one meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss bilateral economic agenda and initiate joint cultural initiatives. He added that a business roundtable meeting would also be held to bring together industry leaders from both countries as well as a dialogue with leaders of the Islamic community and a meeting with the Malaysian diaspora. In Paris, Anwar is scheduled to meet French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss various issues including trade, technology and education, said Tunku Nashrul. "In addition to a business roundtable with major French industry players, the Prime Minister will also hold dialogues with the Islamic community and engage with the Malaysian community in France. "He is also scheduled to deliver a public lecture at Sorbonne University on July 4," said Tunku Nashrul. In Rio de Janeiro, Anwar will attend the BRICS summit on the invitation of Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "Malaysia's participation as a BRICS partner country and Asean chairman 2025 will emphasise on the international law, governance of artificial intelligence, climate, among others," he said. "Anwar and his delegation are expected to arrive back in Kuala Lumpur on July 9 and will proceed to attend the Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting the same day," he added. BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc has been expanded with five additional members namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Malaysia officially attained BRICS partner country status on Jan 1.
