KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — The visit by Argentinian Vice-President Marta Gabriella Michetti to Malaysia is set to be the impetus for a second wave of Kuala Lumpur-Buenos Aires relationship.

Michetti who is here on a five-day official visit since May 2, hoped her visit would help strengthen ties with Malaysia and open up more opportunities for partnerships between the both countries.

Her visit is also the first official visit from the Argentinian side in 22 years since the visits of former President Carlos Menem in 1990 and 1997.

“We admire the development process in Malaysia. Argentina and Malaysia have good relationship and we think this relationship can be further improved,” she said after meeting Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking at his office here, today.

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She also hoped that more Malaysian investors will look to invest in Argentina and participate in the sustainable development of the South American country.

Later on, Michetti and Leiking also attended the Round-Table Meeting with Malaysian and Argentinian companies, chambers of commerce and investment funds where both sides shared and exchanged views on ways to improve bilateral trade and cooperation.

Among those present in the one and half hour meeting were representatives from Petronas, IJM Corporation Berhad, Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (NCCIM).

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Among the Latin American countries, Argentina is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner (15.3 per cent), after Brazil and Mexico.

Argentina also is Malaysia’s fifth largest export destination (3.3 per cent), after Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Peru with the total Malaysia-Argentina bilateral trade in 2018 amounting to RM5.39 billion (USD1.34 billion).

Malaysia’s major exports to Argentina are rubber products (19.4 per cent), electrical and electronic products (17.6 per cent), petroleum products (17.5 per cent), palm oil and palm oil-based products (8.4 per cent); and machinery, equipment & parts (5.8 per cent).

Meanwhile, major imports from Argentina are animal feed and leather and articles of leather (48.2 per cent), other agriculture or cereals (42.9 per cent), other vegetable oil (4.5 per cent), processed food (2.5 per cent); and seafood, fresh, chilled or frozen (0.4 per cent).

The republic is Malaysia’s second largest import source (26.7 per cent), from Latin America after Brazil. — Bernama