Malaysia, Japan agree to give commitment towards second wave of look east policy

Malaysia and Japan have agreed to give the commitment towards strengthening the second wave of the "Look East Policy" in that it should not be limited to training and education, but should be more forward-looking with better focus and more economic-oriented.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was in line with the economic transformation structure and priorities of both countries.

He said this at the joint press conference in conjunction with official visit by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe to Malaysia here today.

Both governments pledged to encourage further partnerships between Malaysian companies and multinational corporations and small and medium entreprises (SMEs) in the areas of green technology and renewable energy.

The other areas include key technical services, institutional support and other high valued-added sectors to promote Malaysia as an investment hub within the region and to cultivate research and development and commercialisation among Malaysian SMEs aided by their Japanese counterparts.

In the meantime, Abe said the Japanese government would give its commitment towards the second wave of the Look East Policy to further strengthen bilateral relationship between both countries.

We have confirmed to promote cooperation in infrastructure to boost the growth of Malaysia and agreed to make use of our high technology expertise especially in high-speed train and water and energy system in this country, he added.

On finance, Najib said regarding the bilateral swap agreement, which expired in October 2007, Malaysia had welcomed the efforts to initiate discussions on the renewal of the agreement.

We look forward to the support from the government of Japan and its authorities to encourage Japanese enterprises, financial institutions and investors to engage in Islamic finance-related activities with Malaysia, he said.

We also like to offer technical assistance to Japan in Islamic finance, he added.

In other developments, Najib said both sides recognised the need to establish a large-scale research or academic joint programme between Malaysia-Japan Institute of Technology (MJIT) and major Japanese companies and industries in the area of higher or advance technology.

Malaysia will continue to send our students to Japan particularly in science and technology and welcome more Japanese to study in MJIT, he added.

In addition, the prime minister said both leaders also discussed on maritime and defence security, tourism and youth exchanges as well as regional and international issues.