BERLIN, Aug 27 — Even though trade and business have traditionally dominated German-Malaysian bilateral relations, the relationship is increasingly also embracing political cooperation.

Berlin-based Malaysian ambassador to Germany, Datin Sarah Nava Rani Albakri Devadason, told Bernama that Germany’s relations with Malaysia have been good since the time Germany became one of the first few countries to recognise the young, independent Malaya, as it was then known, in 1957.

“The strong bond of friendship and cooperation between our two countries could be further strengthened through closer cooperation in many sectors of mutual interest,” Sarah Nava said.

The envoy, who received her appointment letter as Malaysia’s ambassador to Germany from the Malaysian King on the same day – August 17, 2017 – when the German ambassador to Malaysia, Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff, was presenting his letter of accreditation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong at Istana Negara, subsequently met Lambsdorff again at an event in Hamburg organised by the German Asia-Pacific Business Council; the two envoys work closely to push for greater bilateral cooperation and also for exchange of bilateral visits.

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“We are also looking at increasing exchange of visits by politicians from both sides. The last time a Malaysian Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) paid an official visit to Germany was in September 2016,” she explained, adding that she was keen to increase bilateral visits and foster closer ties in all spheres with Germany.

Some areas experiencing an increase in cooperation include education, human capital development, and contacts between parliamentarians of both countries.

A group of five German parliamentarians had visited Sabah and Sarawak where they also called on oil palm plantations and held “fruitful discussions” with local stakeholders.

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Minister of Primary Industries Teresa Kok visited Germany in May 2019 to explain the Malaysian government’s policy of sustainable palm-oil production.

Germany, according to some pundits, is sliding into an economic recession; this could possibly curb its capacity to absorb imports. However, Sarah Nava said that the “resilient German economy will bounce back.”

Germany’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or Mittelstand, to use the German term, constitute the backbone of the German economy.

“German companies are resourceful, and will find ways to overcome the challenging situation,” she said.

German companies could take advantage of Asean and, particularly, Malaysia, which are attractive investment sites combined with the region’s combined 650 million people.

Malaysia’s trade with Germany has been moving in a “modestly positive” manner, she said.

Germany was Malaysia’s largest European trading partner in 2018. Malaysia’s two-way trade with Germany amounted to US$13.54 billion (RM56.71 billion), up 9.9 per cent from US$12.33 billion in 2017.

Malaysia’s exports to Germany rose to US$7.01 billion, up 12.8 per cent from US$6.21 billion in 2017.

Malaysia’s imports from Germany rose 6.8 per cent from US$6.12 billion in 2017 to US$6.54 billion in 2018.

Last year’s growth trend also continued in the first six months of this year, when Malaysia’s two-way trade with Germany amounted to US$4.79 billion, up 11.4 per cent over the 2018 corresponding period.

Malaysia’s exports amounted to US$2.65 billion while imports amounted to US$2.24 billion.

Malaysia’s top five export categories in 2018 were electrical and electronics products (63.3 per cent), optical and scientific equipment (9.5 per cent), rubber products (5.4 per cent), machinery, equipment and parts (4.2 per cent) and petroleum products (2.8 per cent).

Malaysia’s top five import categories in 2018 were electrical and electronics products (26.3 per cent), machinery equipment and parts (21.1 per cent), transport equipment (17.5 per cent), chemical and chemical products (12.6 per cent), and optical and scientific equipment (6.7 per cent).

Among Asean countries, Malaysia is Germany’s second largest export destination (after Singapore) and the second largest source of imports (after Vietnam).

“Our aim is to promote Malaysia as a hub in the Asean region. Malaysia is an attractive site for value-added industries. Potential investment areas are agriculture, automotive, biotechnology, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, ICT, agro-based and food processing,” Sarah Nava said.

From 1980 to 2018, Malaysia approved 587 manufacturing projects (with German participation) with total investment worth RM43.74 billion, with potential to generate 67,796 jobs. As of June 2018, 437 manufacturing projects worth RM36.96 billion were implemented in Malaysia with German investment/participation,” she said.

The top five German manufacturing companies in Malaysia are Infineon Technologies, B. Braun Medical Industries, Osram Opto Semiconductor, Robert Bosch and Elektrisola.

An area with considerable potential to promote people-to-people contacts is tourism.

“We recorded an annual average of about 140,000 German tourists for the last five years. Malaysia offers culture, arts, eco-tourism, medical tourism, sun and beaches,” she said.

Although the discontinuation of direct flights between Germany and Malaysia by Malaysia Airlines and Lufthansa was inhibiting German tourism at one time, Condor, the leisure airline, now offers direct flights to Malaysia all-year-round, Sarah Nava pointed out. — Bernama