Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, thank you for your warm and excellent hospitality that you have extended to me and my delegation during our visit to your beautiful country.

 

The timing of my visit to Malaysia is particularly appropriate, as South Africa and Malaysia this year, celebrate 20 years of formal diplomatic ties. Relations between the peoples of South Africa and Malaysia, however, go back much further and have their roots in the strong Party to Party ties between the African National Congress and UMNO which still endures today, as witnessed by the attendance of Prime Minister Razak at the ANC’s Centenary celebrations in 2012.  

Upon its independence the Government and people of Malaysia immediately identified with the oppressed peoples of South Africa and became one of most vocal critics of apartheid South Africa, not only in the region but globally. 

 

Since our early bonds of friendship which solidified relations between our peoples, our partnership have come a long way and today South Africa is a free and democratic country and Malaysia has also developed as one of the leading economic and political powers on the global stage and is widely recognised as one of the champions of the South. 

As developing countries we face similar challenges of addressing inequality, poverty eradication and creating decent jobs for our people. In this regard Malaysia was one of the first countries since South Africa became a democracy, to assist in our reconstruction and developmental challenges, based on its own success in this area.

 

South Africa attaches great importance to its relationship with Malaysia and regards Malaysia as a trusted friend and ally. 

 

Over the past 20 years the relationship between South Africa and Malaysia has grown rapidly in many fields and solidified into a multi-facetted relationship reflected in strong people-to-people links, state-to-state and government-to-government relations that includes cooperation at many levels, bilateral, as well as multilateral.

During our meeting this morning, the Prime Minister and I reviewed the status of our bilateral relations, which included many fields of mutual interest, namely, trade, investment, tourism, science and technology, energy, transport and human resource and skills development. 

In 1994 Malaysia became one of the first investors in South Africa demonstrating its strong belief and confidence in the newly created democratic South Africa. 

 

While most of the world adopted a wait and see approach in investing in South Africa, Malaysia led the way. Today Malaysia is the largest investor in South Africa from Southeast Asia and South Africa is one of the largest investor in Malaysia from Africa. We also recognised the increasing global importance of our two regions, Africa and Asia, which today is home to the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic economies.

 

We welcomed the continuing increase in bilateral trade – which reached R19.7 billion in 2012, up from R13.8 billion in 2008. 

It was agreed that the substantial reciprocal investments that each country has made, should be further encouraged and this in turn would lead to increased trade in goods and services. As Malaysia is a hub for Southeast Asia, South Africa is equally a hub or springboard into Southern Africa. 

 

We agreed to intensify cooperation between our respective regions.

 

His Excellency, Prime Minister Razak and I shared with each other, our governments’ domestic policy priorities and I invited Malaysia to consider investing both in South Africa’s and Africa’s infrastructure drive. 

 

The Ministers in my delegation will interact with their respective Malaysian counterparts to identify further opportunities to strengthen our excellent relations with Malaysia. 

I look forward over the next two days, to meet with various stakeholders in Malaysia when I participate in the Malaysia – South Africa Business Forum. I will also have the honour and privilege, to receive on behalf of former President Nelson Mandela, the Lifetime Award for Global Peace from the Mahathir Global Peace Foundation. 

 

President Mandela is widely recognised as a global symbol of struggle, the triumph of freedom over oppression and an icon of peace and reconciliation.  

I am also privileged and humbled to be honoured by the Lim Kok Wing University, who will be bestowing on me an Honorary Doctorate of Leadership. 

 

It is with great humility that I shall receive these two awards, not only on my own behalf and former President Mandela, but also on behalf of the people of South Africa. 

I would also like to express the deep appreciation and gratitude to the people and government of Malaysia for their steadfast prayers and messages of support for the wellbeing and good health of President Mandela.

 

I thank you.