EGYPT, which is impressed with the success of the Malaysian economic achievements, has suggested that the national oil company Petronas and carmaker Proton collaborate with Egyptian entities to take advantage of the regional market here.
It was suggested that Petronas form a consortium with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC) to bid for drilling projects on the African continent, and Proton a joint venture with a local government-linked company to assemble cars in Egypt.
The suggestions were made by Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil in his meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Razak here yesterday.
Najib said he thought the suggestions were interesting and would forward them to the relevant parties.
It was suggested that Petronas form a consortium with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC) to bid for drilling projects on the African continent, and Proton a joint venture with a local government-linked company to assemble cars in Egypt.
The suggestions were made by Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil in his meeting with Datuk Seri Najib Razak here yesterday.
Najib said he thought the suggestions were interesting and would forward them to the relevant parties.
Egypt also invited Malaysian companies to invest in Special Economic Zone in the Suez region.
Najib said he welcomed the invitations and encouraged Malaysian companies to do so as he thought they should be in Egypt now to take advantage of its economic reconstruction efforts, after the Arab Spring revolutions, which saw a change in leadership.
"The Malaysian private sector has to be here now when the reconstruction is still being initiated and to take full advantage of it when it's in full swing," he told reporters at a press conference yesterday before leaving for Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Najib also met Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Tuesday night and discussed bilateral ties.
During the visit, Najib witnessed the signing ceremony of a framework agreement of economic cooperation between Egypt and Malaysia.
The balance of trade between the two countries is now in Malaysia's favour which has a US$1 billion (RM3 billion) surplus. Egypt's main exports to Malaysia are cotton materials and fertilisers, while textiles and industrial machinery are the top imports from Malaysia.
The Egyptian economy, which has largely depended on tourism, has weakened with foreign currency reserve falling from US$36 billion in December 2010 to only US$16.3 billion in January 2012.
In February last year, Standard & Poor's rating agency lowered Egypt's credit rating from "B+" to "B" in the long term, following the political turmoil brought about by the Arab Spring.
However, the situation has somewhat stabilised now that a new constitution was signed by Morsi on December 26 2012, after it was approved by the Constituent Assembly on November 30 and passed in a referendum held on December 15-22 last year with 64 per cent support.
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