ASEAN-BAC Malaysia held a consultation meeting with the Sabah state government and agencies on 28 July 2022, chaired by ASEAN-BAC Malaysia Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Munir Majid. The session discussed the state’s development and recovery efforts.

Tourism is the largest contributor to the Sabah economy as emphasised by Tan Sri Munir. “There is huge potential for growth. Sabah should look to expand the market for tourist arrivals to also include ASEAN countries whose income levels are rising. ASEANBAC Malaysia welcomes ideas from the Sabah government on how it can help in this regard, bearing in mind that issues such as connectivity, infrastructure and human resources need to be addressed.”

ASEAN-BAC Malaysia Council Member Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon touched on the new Sabah Gas Masterplan, “Foreign and domestic investors find access to gas and energy to be a big incentive for manufacturing and so having a gas pipeline passing through industrial estates could form the basis of a vibrant manufacturing sector in Sabah.”

ASEAN-BAC Council Member Mr Raja Singham, for his part, said, “Another area Sabah could look at is food security and agriculture with the war in Ukraine and food shortages all over the world, especially since Sabah has large land banks and it could adopt modern methods of food production.”

ASEAN-BAC Malaysia held a closed-door consultation meeting with Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Secretary General Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali on 8 July 2022. Representatives from the ASEAN Economic Integration Division and ASEANBAC Malaysia also attended the meeting.

The meeting covered updates from MITI on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as well as updates on ASEAN-BAC Malaysia’s current initiatives which included outcomes from the previous ASEAN-BAC Malaysia Virtual Dialogues 2022 held on 30 March 2022, updates on the ASEAN-BAC Healthcare Working Group and the Green and Sustainable Economy Working Group which are chaired by ASEAN-BAC Malaysia. The meeting also discussed closer collaborations to foster relations between MITI, ASEAN-BAC Malaysia and other relevant ministries on future initiatives.

ASEAN-BAC Malaysia Chairman Tan Sri Dato Dr Munir Majid was a panellist at the High-Level Dialogue on ASEAN-Italy Economic Relations, organised by The European House – Ambrosetti at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 6 July 2022.

Tan Sri Munir together with the other panelists spoke about “Tools for Economic Cooperation”, a dialogue chaired by Mr Luca Bernardinetti, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mahanakorn Partners Group. Tan Sri Munir highlighted the current green and sustainable energy trends in ASEAN and said that he hoped to see a 20% increase in electric vehicles on ASEAN roads by 2025. Tan Sri Munir also discussed the importance of 5G infrastructure development in ASEAN and how such infrastructure impacts the region’s technological advancement, as well as how Malaysia and Italy could collaborate on evaluating forest and plantation cover in the region.

Other panellists who joined the session include:

1. Mr. Carlo Ferro, President of the Italian Trade Agency
2. Mr. Raffaele Langella, Director International Affairs, The General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria), and former Italian Ambassador to Singapore
3. Mr. Luca Maestripieri, Director of the Italian Agency for Development
   Cooperation
4. His Excellency Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Eastern Economic Corridor, Thailand, and former Permanent Secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
5. Mr. Allan B. Gepty, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, Philippines