He said economic relations between Australia and Malaysia have grown from strength to strength in recent years based on mutual geo-economic interests and the pursuit of regional prosperity.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said commodities such as hydrocarbons, coal, palm oil, and refined copper are a significant part of the bilateral trade and underscore the trade element of geostrategic interests in the Asia-Pacific.
“As parties to four economic frameworks, the economic relationship between Malaysia and Australia is set to strengthen further,” he said in his lecture at the 2024 Gareth Evans Oration entitled “Navigating Geopolitical Currents: Malaysia and Australia’s pivotal role in Asia- Pacific” at the Australian National University (ANU) today.
“Among the four economic frameworks include the world’s largest Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. These signal our joint interest in facilitating trade and investment across this dynamic region.
“We are also heartened by the trade-focused components of Australia’s recent Southeast Asia Economic Strategy (SEAS), which recognises the need to deepen such collaboration between Australia and Asean amid growing geopolitical uncertainty,” he said.
He said nationally, Malaysia is on track, with its New Industrial Master Plan 2030 and Madani economic framework outlining similar priority areas alongside the SEAS.
Anwar said that in the years to come, new opportunities will emerge for Australian investors in digitalisation, renewable energy and energy transition, agro-processing and the downstream of the chemical and mineral sectors, coinciding with Malaysia’s push towards becoming a complex, advanced economy.
“A recent hallmark in our relationship, formerly categorised as a ‘Strategic Partnership’, is its elevation to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, which reaffirms our strong bilateral ties, with cooperation cutting across multiple spheres, often stretching beyond the traditional economic, diplomatic, security, and cultural ties.
“More importantly, it also emphasises shared regional aspirations and the intent to cooperate strategically on a multilateral level,” he said.
He said Australia is a close and important partner for Malaysia and both countries have deep cooperation in various sectors that include education, trade and investment, defence, cybersecurity as well as science and technology.
In 2023, Malaysia and Australia’s bilateral trade stood at US$18.57 billion (RM84.64 billion), establishing Australia as Malaysia’s tenth-largest trading partner.
As of December, last year, Australia had approved investments in Malaysia involving 582 projects, with realised investments involving 366 projects.