Govt involvement crucial for success of Malacca-Guangdong projects

MALACCA: The government's participation in projects involving China's Guangdong province in the state is crucial to ensure their smooth running and making sure that they are completed within the stipulated time, said Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron (pix).
He said the success of the projects involving Melaka and Guangdong was important, in line with the One Belt, One Road policies and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road as announced by China's President Xi Jinping.
In 2015, Malacca and Guangdong province signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance friendly and cooperative relations between them.
Speaking to reporters after welcoming the official visit from Guangdong's Director-General of Foreign Affairs, Chen Qiu Yan, and his delegation at Seri Bendahara, Ayer Keroh here today, Idris said, the Guangdong representatives said they would like to see the government's involvement and the private sector's support in any development in Melaka which involved Guangdong.
"They have started to monitor the developments on the collaboration which has been ongoing for the past three years, and I am confident we will be able to see the deepwater port and the maritime industrial park projects in this state resulting from the collaboration with Guangdong come to fruition," he said.
During the hour-long visit, the parties discussed the development in bilateral relations between the state and the province, as well as global current affairs which were relevant to the two parties.
"I gave the delegation an assurance that Malacca's activities in Guangdong will continue. For example, we will be setting up a Melaka culture and information centre to be located at the Zhuhai industrial area.
"This meeting is based on a mutual understanding between Malacca and Guangdong to ensure that the collaborative projects between the state and the province will move faster and provide positive results in achieving the goals of both countries," he said.
Idris also hoped that foreign investors would continue to see Malacca as a high potential investment destination in various sectors, especially tourism. — Bernama