Malaysia wants to build a palm oil refinery in Egypt, possibly in the Suez Economic Zone, and the issue is currently being discussed by relevant authorities in both countries, Ismail said.

Ismail was speaking to Ahram Online shortly after Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Kuala Lumpur last month. The top Egyptian diplomat’s visit to Malaysia was the first leg of a wider tour of Southeast and South Asia which then took him to Singapore, Indonesia and Pakistan.

In Malaysia, Shoukry met Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabry Yaakob. He handed him an invitation from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi to attend the COP27 which Egypt plans to host in Sharm el-Sheikh in November this year.

Preparing for COP27 is a matter of critical interest to Malaysia, Egypt and other developing countries, Ismail said. He added that the commitment of developed countries to support developing countries on mitigation and adaptation issues in Glasgow, during COP26, did not really meet the expectations of many developing countries which must care about their part of sustainable development.

Discussions on preparations for COP27, he said, were only part of a larger agenda for the talks that Shoukry held during his visit to Malaysia. The talks in Kuala Lumpur, Ismail explained, focused on cooperation in the fields of economy, technology, trade and tourism.

The proposed palm oil refinery is one of many potential projects the two countries are considering for their cooperation, he said. “We have a wide range of projects that we are looking at, including cooperation in oil and gas.”

Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas, he added, is currently operating in Egypt and may well extend its cooperation well beyond the currently agreed end of the 2030s.

Information and communication technology cooperation, Ismail said, was also at the heart of discussions Shoukry had with his Malaysian interlocutors in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Malaysia is an advanced country in ICT and is on its way to becoming a regional digital hub in Southeast Asia, Shoukry said in Kuala Lumpur.

The Foreign Minister added that there is huge potential for cooperation in ICT between Egypt and Malaysia, considering that digital transformation is a high priority for Egypt.

There are “very promising prospects” for cooperation between the two countries, according to Shoukry’s statement in Kuala Lumpur.

“We are together in many ways,” Ismail said. He added that the two countries have expressed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations on all fronts.

Ismail referred to the Malaysian Foreign Minister’s visit to Cairo in June 2021 shortly after a high-level phone call between El-Sisi and former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

From that point on, Ismail said, the two countries embarked on an initiative to “refresh bilateral relations” that were established in the late 1950s.

During Sisi-Yassin’s phone call, he added, “there was an agreement to strengthen bilateral relations and consultations, including direct contact with leaders.”

In January, the joint Egyptian-Malaysian commission met in Cairo at the level of deputy foreign ministers. The committee is due to meet at ministerial level in Kuala Lumpur later this year.

This, Ismail said, should be followed by a visit by the Malaysian Prime Minister to Egypt and subsequently by a visit by the Egyptian President to Malaysia.

The meetings will focus on improving cooperation on the ground, Ismail stressed. Already, he added, the volume of trade between the two countries has increased by more than 80% in one year to reach around $1 billion in 2021.

“We hope to increase this volume to $10 billion. [in the next few years] as we work to diversify [facets of our cooperation]Isamil said. He added that the revival of the Egyptian-Malaysian Business Council “with competent and motivated members from both sides” is currently underway.

“We want to increase our trade,” Ismail said. “Egypt is Malaysia’s largest trading partner in North Africa and is certainly a gateway to all of Africa.”

Ismail said the two countries are committed to intensifying cooperation in the multilateral forums that bring them together, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, non-aligned movementG-15, and D-8 Economic Cooperation Organization. “As developing countries, we can express our [expectations and concerns] for the world to hear,” he said.

The coordination between the two countries, he said, covers both the fight against terrorism and Islamophobia. “There are other issues; and of course the Palestinian cause is essential for our countries,” he added.

Ismail noted that the two countries are committed to improving cooperation in the field of education. More than 7,000 Malaysians study in Egypt, mainly at Al-Azhar University.

“In fact, the relationship between our two countries began in the 1920s when students started enrolling in Al-Azhar, and since then our cooperation in the field of education has grown steadily” , did he declare.

Malaysia, Ismail added, is expecting a visit from the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb later this year or early next year. Al-Azhar, he argued, is a cornerstone of Egyptian-Malaysian relations.

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