Malaysia deepens ties with France for long-term growth: PM
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the matter would be discussed during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron today.
"We will find ways to explore this. In fact, we have expanded our ties over the years, from not just buying products such as planes but also supplying parts for their manufacturing," he said on Thursday.
Speaking at the gathering with the Malaysian diaspora here in conjunction with his two-day visit to France, Anwar said Malaysia continues to be a top destination for high-tech industries such as electrical and electronics (E&E).
"In the past, we bought a lot of planes from Airbus and Boeing. Now we have companies producing parts for these plane manufacturers in Malaysia," he added.
Also present were 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 Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Prime Minister said Malaysian students studying in France should also take advantage of the growing high-tech industries back home and come back after completing their studies here.
Anwar is undertaking an official visit to France at the invitation of Macron.
He is scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting with Macron at the Élysée Palace, with key agenda items including trade, investment, renewable energy, semiconductors, defence, education, digital economy, and artificial intelligence (AI).
France remains one of Malaysia's top five trading partners within the European Union.
In 2024, bilateral trade totalled RM15.95 billion (US$3.63 billion), with RM6.26 billion (US$1.49 billion) recorded between January and May this year. - BERNAMA
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