Oleh/By  	:	DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue	:	ALGIERS, PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC 
			REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA
Tarikh/Date	:	11/08/2003
Tajuk/Title 	:	THE STATE DINNER HOSTED BY HIS
			EXCELLENCY ABDELAZIZ 
			BOUTEFLIKA PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S 
			DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA
Versi 		:	ENGLISH
Penyampai	: 	PM   

   
         Thank  you, Mr. President, for your kind words  of
    welcome. It is indeed a pleasure for me, my wife and my
    delegation to be in Algiers. I am very glad that I have
    finally been able to undertake this visit. On behalf of
    my  wife and members of my delegation, I would like  to
    express  my  sincere gratitude to you, your  Government
    and  the people of Algeria for the warm hospitality and
    excellent arrangements extended to us since our arrival
    in your beautiful and historic country.
    
    2.    Both  Malaysia  and  Algeria  are  fairly   young
    nations.  We  were  both colonised -  Malaysia  by  the
    British and Algeria by the French. Our past experiences
    may  be  diverse,  our histories may be  different  but
    beyond all these, we have something in common, that  we
    share  a  common  destiny.  We  both  aspire  for   our
    countries to develop and for our people to prosper.
    
    3.   Malaysia  follows  with  keen  interest  Algeria's
    relentless  efforts to improve the economic and  social
    well being of her people. The economic reforms that are
    being   introduced  and  implemented  in  the   country
    illustrate  Algeria's  determination  to  achieve  this
    goal. Algeria has enormous potential, not only in terms
    of  its  natural wealth, but also in its  well-educated
    young  people.  Algeria has successfully concluded  the
    Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement  with  the  EU
    and  the  negotiations to join the WTO  is  progressing
    well.   This   will  give  a  clear  message   to   the
    international community of the vast potential of  trade
    and  investment  that Algeria has to  offer.  Algeria's
    active   role  and  participation  in  NEPAD  is   also
    laudable.  The future of Algeria is indeed very  bright
    and   I  am  fully  confident  that  under  your   able
    leadership, Mr President, Algeria will emerge as one of
    the most successful economies of the continent.
    
    4.   To  achieve  economic  development  is  not  easy.
    Malaysia's own experience is not rosy. There are  bound
    to  be  difficulties but these are not  insurmountable.
    Hard  work,  determination  and  proper  planning   and
    determined  execution  are  keys  to  achieve  economic
    development.  Malaysia is ready to  share  what  little
    experience  it  has  in  developing  and  managing  its
    economy  with  fellow  developing  countries.  In  this
    regard,  I  earnestly  hope  that  the  study  on   the
    diversification of Algeria's economy that the Malaysian
    team  of  experts had concluded earlier this year,  has
    helped Algeria in outlining its economic strategy. This
    is  only a small contribution that my Government  could
    offer to a friendly country like Algeria.
    
    5.   My  visit  here,  a  first by  a  Malaysian  Prime
    Minister,  is to further reaffirm Malaysia's commitment
    to  this spirit of friendship and co-operation. Earlier
    today,  we have had candid and fruitful discussions  on
    numerous  bilateral topics. We must  work  together  to
    lift our relations to a new and more meaningful height.
    Aside   from  the  existing  co-operation  that  exists
    between  our  two national oil companies, Petronas  and
    Sonatrach,  in  the  oil  and  gas  industry,  we  have
    identified several other potential sectors in which  we
    could  explore  further, including the Information  and
    Communications    Technology   (ICT),    constructions,
    education and tourism.
    
    6.  In terms of bilateral trade, I am happy to note that
    the statistics of the last few years have shown an upward
    trend.  Last  year,  our bilateral  trade  amounted  to
    approximately USD 100 million. This figure is marginal and
    does not reflect the true potential of our trade. I believe
    much more can be done. The private sectors of both  our
    countries must engage themselves more aggressively and work
    on establishing mutually profitable trade ties. Distance
    should not be an impediment to better interactions between
    people and the business community. Direct trading should
    also be encouraged rather than through a third country. I
    have   in   my   delegation,  key   personalities   and
    representatives of the Malaysian business community who are
    keen to meet and discuss with their Algerian counterparts
    on a wide-range of business possibilities. The signing of
    the Trade Agreement this morning should further facilitate,
    strengthen and expand our trade exchange regime.
    
    7.   Premised on mutual respect and understanding,  the
    relations between Malaysia and Algeria have improved by
    leaps and bounds.  We should now focus on strengthening
    these  relations. People-to-people contact  is  equally
    important  and should be encouraged. Before,  we  could
    say  that  the  news  about  Malaysia  does  not  reach
    Algeria,  and  vice versa. To improve  knowledge  about
    each other we should initiate news exchange activities.
    The  signing of the News Exchange Agreement between our
    two  national news agencies, BERNAMA and Alg.rie Presse
    Service  (APS),  I believe, will contribute  positively
    towards  generating  better  understanding  about  each
    other,   which  in  turn,  will  strengthen  our   all-
    encompassing bilateral relations.
    
    8.   At  the international level, Malaysia and  Algeria
    have  co-operated meaningfully in various fora such  as
    the  UN,  NAM, OIC, G-77 and G-15. I wish to take  this
    opportunity  to  thank  you, Mr.  President,  for  your
    presence,  support and immense contribution during  the
    NAM  Summit,  which my country has had  the  honour  of
    hosting last February. I trust that Malaysia can  again
    continue  to  count  on  Algeria's  full  support   and
    constructive participation at the upcoming  OIC  Summit
    to be held in October.
    
    9.   Muslim  countries must unite to defend our  image.
    The  perception  of Islam as a religion  that  promotes
    acts  of terror should be corrected. Both Malaysia  and
    Algeria  share  a common position in the fight  against
    terrorism.  Malaysia  continues  to  believe   that   a
    universally accepted definition of terrorism  is  vital
    to  enable  the  international  community  to  take   a
    concerted  and effective action against terrorism.  The
    causes of terrorism must also be attended to.
    
    10.  Malaysia  would like a return to the  multilateral
    system   in  achieving  world  peace  through  the   UN
    especially  in  solving the problem in Iraq.   Iraq  is
    very  likely to descend into anarchy unless the  United
    Nations  takes  full control.  The Iraqis  must  regain
    their independence soonest.
    
    11.  On  that  note, Mr. President, allow  me  to  once
    again  express  my  deepest  gratitude  for  the   warm
    reception and hospitality accorded to my wife  and  me,
    and  to  members of my delegation. I am  sure  we  will
    leave Algeria with many fond memories.

   Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri