Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : CONAKRY, GUINEA
Tarikh/Date : 06/11/96
Tajuk/Title : THE MALAYSIA-GUINEA
BUSINESS SEMINAR
1. It gives me great pleasure to be here in Conakry today in
conjunction with the Malaysia-Guinea business seminar. I
welcome this opportunity to address the business communities
of both our countries, as it provides an ideal opportunity for
the meeting of minds and exchange of ideas between our
businessmen. The business communities of our two countries
have a critical role to play in forging and enhancing
bilateral relations between us. In this context, Malaysia
hopes that increased interaction between our two countries,
through visits and forums such as this, will boost bilateral
trade, eventually leading to the strengthening of relations
between the peoples of Guinea and Malaysia.
2. The realignment of economic forces and business,
globally, requires a reappraisal of traditional forms of
relationships among nations. Developing countries like Guinea
and Malaysia should take the opportunity to forge mutually
beneficial trade and business alliances with new and non-
traditional partners consistent with the realities of the
world. Distance and history need not stand in the way of us
making new friends, and learning from the experiences of
others in different parts of the world. In the past, the lack
of knowledge about each other had been the main obstacle to
the development of relations between Malaysia and countries in
this region.
3. Today's modern communications systems has made the world
a very much smaller place, hence physical distance between
Malaysia and this part of the world should cease to be an
impediment to the advancement of our ties. The barriers are
more psychological than real. Malaysia has strong economic
and cultural relations with countries which are even further
away than Guinea, and accessibility has never been a problem.
North America, for example, is one of Malaysia's major trading
partners. During the apartheid era, South Africa was a very
remote destination for most Malaysians. However, within a
very short span of time after sanctions were lifted, South
Africa has emerged as Malaysia's most important trading
partner in Africa. Likewise, I believe there are no reasons
to prevent Guinea from emerging as the focus of Malaysian
business activity in Western Africa. What is important is the
persistence of interaction between our two countries at the
political and commercial levels.
4. It is in this light that Malaysia seeks new friends in
Africa. This mutually beneficial experiment in the spirit of
South-South cooperation, was given further meaning when His
Excellency, President Gen. Lansana Conte visited Malaysia in
September 1995. My return visit today, is testimony to our
seriousness in enhancing bilateral relations with Guinea and
with this part of the world. It is significant that I am
accompanied by about 90 corporate leaders from Malaysia,
representing some of the leading companies in the country from
sectors such as telecommunications, power generation, mining,
property and infrastructure development, banking and trading.
I am confident that this visit of Malaysian businessmen who
have accompanied me to Guinea will enhance the ties initially
established in Kuala Lumpur and explore new areas of common
interest.
5. We in Malaysia are encouraged by the successful economic
and fiscal reforms undertaken by the new Government in Guinea.
The ongoing economic liberalisation and privatisation of
industries has already laid the groundwork for increased
efficiency and growth in key sectors of the economy. The
reforms, while creating greater international confidence among
foreign investors, has also increased the prospects of
sustained economic growth in Guinea which reached 4.6 percent
in 1995.
6. Malaysia is appreciative of the formidable task faced by
the Guinean Government in developing the country. Therefore,
Malaysia expects that its relations with Guinea should go
beyond the area of business and cater to the nation building
needs of Guinea as well. This commitment is attested by our
efforts to complement the programs of the Guinean Government
to meet the basic needs of the people. Malaysia has taken the
initiative to work with Guinea in moving towards food self
sufficiency through the development of rice farming, milling
and distribution. We are prepared to work together in other
areas to assist the government in realising its socio-economic
objectives where we may be competent. Likewise, Malaysian
businessmen here today could explore mutually beneficial
ventures that would bring more lasting and meaningful benefits
to our peoples.
7. It is reported that agriculture which accounts for almost
24 percent of GDP, and employ 80 percent of the workforce,
has much potential for development in Guinea. I propose that
Malaysian companies which are known for their plantation
expertise take a serious look at transferring their know-how
to Guinea. Malaysian companies could establish new
plantations in Guinea. Alternatively, downstream activities
based on the processing of coffee, cocoa and other
agricultural produce could be undertaken together.
8. The mining industry in Guinea accounts for 85 percent of
the country's exports. Guinea is endowed with resources such
as bauxite and vast reserves of other untapped minerals which
have the potential to contribute to the economic growth of
Guinea. Malaysian investors could heed the call of the
Guinean Government to help develop this potential through
joint ventures with their Guinean counterparts. It is
heartening to know that some Malaysian companies are already
at an advanced stage of negotiation in investing in some of
these ventures. Development of the mining industries should
open the threshold towards broad base industrialisation in
Guinea particularly in down stream mineral processing
activities. This is all the more feasible as Guinea is
reported to have excellent potential for generation of
competitively priced power from hydro-electric sources.
9. Bilateral trade between Guinea and Malaysia although
relatively small has been growing steadily from US$3.7 million
in 1994 to US$4.6 million in 1995. The structure of trade
between our two countries indicates that there are definite
areas of complementarity between us. While Malaysia imports
raw materials required by its industries, Guinea on the other
hand, imports manufactured products made up of detergents,
processed palm oil, and articles of plastics from Malaysia.
The present level of trade with Malaysia is low compared with
Guinea's total global trade of US$1,400 million in 1995.
Guinea's major exports of bauxite, alumina, gold and coffee
could easily find markets in Malaysia. Malaysia's low import
tariff regime provides opportunities for strengthening this
complimentary trade relationship between Guinea and Malaysia.
Guinean businessmen should take advantage of this by exporting
more to Malaysia.
10. I also urge the business community of Guinea to explore
fully Malaysia's capability to cater for the consumer and
industrial requirements of Guinea and its neighbouring
markets. Malaysia's competitively priced products could
substitute for many manufactured goods which Guinea currently
sources from elsewhere. I would like to suggest that Guinea
use Malaysia as their base to source consumer products and
industrial inputs from the dynamic East Asian region of which
Malaysia is a strategic part. As a member of the Economic
Community of West African States, which is set to become a
free trade area, Guinea could position itself as a gateway of
the West African markets for imports from the Asean region.
11. It is Malaysia's experience that to ensure the success of
market reforms and reinforce economic growth, infrastructure
development is a necessary prerequisite. Malaysia has
extensive experience in infrastructure and rural development.
We believe that the Malaysian and Guinean private sector can
complement each other in the fields of tourism, housing, power
supply and infrastructure development in Guinea. We would
like to offer to jointly develope these services for Guinea.
I urge the Malaysian private sector to address such key areas
as housing and rehabilitation of power supply as it would
contribute directly to the quality of life in Guinea and lead
to other economic spin-offs as well.
12. As Guinea and Malaysia are countries with small domestic
markets it is imperative that we have a global outlook to
achieve growth. Let us therefore explore ways of working
together in the international market. Malaysian companies,
should take a longer term view of their operations in Guinea
and participate as good corporate citizens in the country's
development. They should seek joint ventures which would
enable them to tap the European markets as Guinea has a
special relationship with the European Union under the Lome
Convention.
13. Given the present momentum of change, I am confident that
the Guinean economy will soon be able to achieve sustained
economic growth. Malaysia on its part will urge its private
sector to work together with their Guinean counterparts to
achieve Guinea's national goals.
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