Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR.
MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE
Tarikh/Date : 29/07/98
Tajuk/Title : THE STATE BANQUET ON THE OCCASION OF
THE OFFICIAL VISIT TO THE REPUBLIC
OF MOZAMBIQUE
I would like to express my sincere appreciation for
the very warm welcome extended to members of my delegation
and I. The spirited and sincere expression of friendship
accorded to our delegation clearly demonstrates the
closeness of the relations that exist between our two
countries.
2. It is a privilege for me to be the first Malaysian
Prime Minister to make an Official Visit to Mozambique --
and, for that matter, ever to a former Portuguese colony
in Africa. Besides reciprocating Your Excellency's visit
to Malaysia last year, this visit is also to rekindle the
spirit of brotherliness and strengthen our bonds of
friendships. It is also a manifestation of our desire to
continue to cooperate with Mozambique in good and in bad
times. Indeed, we have always looked upon you as a
friend, sharing your sorrows and joys, despite the
distance that separates us.
3. We have never been to your country before because you
and your illustrious predecessors, Samora Machel and
before him Eduardo Mondlane, were abroad waging a war of
liberation for their homeland. This visit is also to pay
tribute to their struggle. We are today delighted that
peace and reconciliation has now been firmly established
and that you have also been able to bring remarkable
economic recovery to Mozambique.
4. Last year when Your Excellency visited our country,
we were keen to participate and contribute in a small way
in the reconstruction of your country. The determination,
expertise and experience is still there. But, today they
do not have the means to do so.
5. We regret very much that apart from just two or three
companies, the others whom you have most warmly welcomed
and encouraged have had the carpets pulled from under
their feet. In fact, even in our country, our capacity to
invest and develop have diminished.
6. It does appear that for the rich nations the
development and prosperity of the countries of the South
and South-South Cooperation are not welcome.
7. The West has found a new weapon to force us to submit
to them. Indeed, a few countries in East Asia have
already bowed to forces which they could not resist. The
process to impoverish, if not to destroy, countries and to
put a halt to South-South Cooperation is very simple. Gun-
boats are no longer necessary. By simply devaluing our
currency, we can be forced to submit, a submission that is
no different from that following conquest and
colonisation.
8. Malaysia's sustained growth of eight percent per
annum has today been replaced by a contraction of 1.8
percent. Negative growth is the rule for all of us in
East Asia. Malaysia's currency has been devalued by some
70 percent and our stock market capitalisation has been
reduced to a third of its former strength. The so-called
market forces now want to determine who should lead our
countries.
9. I have mentioned this just to underscore the
seriousness of the crisis facing Malaysia and other
countries in East Asia. The turmoil that the countries of
East Asia face today is truly horrendous. Perfectly good
well-managed companies are now hardly able to survive.
Those with investments abroad have been forced to
liquidate their foreign assets in order to bring back the
money to sustain their domestic operations. So harassed
are they that they failed to communicate with their
Mozambican counterparts their inability to continue with
some projects.
10. But we are not about to give up. We still feel a
need to cooperate with the countries of the south. We may
not be able to do much presently but we will continue to
look to the day when we can once again cooperate and
invest in foreign countries. This explains why a large
private sector delegation has accompanied me despite their
difficulties at home. They want to look beyond this
crisis and prepare themselves for their return to this
region to participate in your development.
11. While we share many things in common, we, in fact,
still do not know each other well enough. We need to
discover each other so that we can aspire to build upon
whatever little strength we have for mutual benefit. It
is important for both of our private sectors to be
familiar with each other, to know the local laws and
regulations and how business is conducted in our
respective countries. We also need to be familiar with
the investment policy and legal framework. This is vital
to ensure our future interaction is successful and
mutually beneficial.
12. No less important is the need to remove obstacles
that stand in the way of private sector interaction.
Projects cannot take off the ground if rules, regulations
and policies are not clear. All these, and much more,
would also have to be looked into if developing countries
are to embark on effective South-South Cooperation.
13. I am particularly grateful that Your Excellency has
gone out of the way to accommodate the Malaysian private
sector. I am confident that the temporary silence that
exists between our respective private sectors would be
over soon.
14. My meeting with Your Excellency earlier this evening
has strengthened my conviction that both our private
sectors can still do things together. We already have a
joint venture bank here and PETRONAS is also keen. These
two ventures would be a catalyst for greater business
cooperation and, step-by-step business relations would
flourish.
15. Our two countries are in the process of
reconstruction: Mozambique from the ravages of war and
Malaysia from the devastation caused by an unprecedented
assault on our economy. We may be temporarily down, but
we are certainly not out. Even weak countries working
together can bolster each other's strength. Mozambique
and Malaysia are certainly not exactly the weakest
economies in this world. I strongly believe -- and I am
sure you do too -- that through friendship and
cooperation, patience and unity, our two countries will be
able to recover and emerge even stronger.
16. I wish to thank you once again for your warm
hospitality and kind invitation to visit your country. I
must also thank the people of Mozambique for the most
heartwarming welcome to this land of great promise and
beauty. I am convinced that Mozambique and Malaysia have
common goals and we can together push forward our
relations into the next millennium with ardour.
17. On this note, may I now propose a toast to the good
health and happiness of my dear friend His Excellency
President Joaquim Alberto Chissano; to the continued peace
and prosperity of the brotherly people of Mozambique, and
to the future which we can and will build together.
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