KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Czech Republic’s Minister of Environment Richard Brabec and representatives from over 30 companies in various sectors are scheduled to visit Malaysia next month to explore new areas of cooperation between the two nations in a circular economy.
Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Malaysia Milan Hupcej said the companies are from industries such as e-waste processing, water treatment, hydropower, bio-plastics, smart textiles and nanotechnologies.
“Transition to a circular economy is a key issue on the Czech green agenda nowadays. In this matter, we have experienced increasing pressure to streamline various waste management systems and transform them into a circular economy,” he told Bernama International News Service, here, Monday, in an interview held in conjunction with Czech Republic’s National Day celebration on Oct 28.
Hupcej said the Technology Agency of Czech Republic is included in the delegation to explore opportunities in research and development and to set the framework for cooperation with its Malaysian partners.
The envoy said the embassy is also primarily supporting the growth and diversification of the trade between the two countries, with special focus on green technologies, ICT, pharmaceuticals, machinery, food industries, aerospace, defence and security industries.
Hupcej said Malaysia remains as the Republic’s largest trading partner in Asean, with the first eight months of this year’s bilateral trade amounting to US$1.1 billion.
Having started his term here in January, the ambassador said he is looking forward to creating better conditions for conducting business and people-to-people contact through the finalisation of agreements on economic cooperation as well as the Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters.
He added that the embassy is also looking at the possibility of opening offices on trade and investment promotion of Czech Republic’s government agency here to assist small Czech companies operating in Malaysia.
“For big companies, normally there won’t be much problem. But small businesses might need more attention. In our economy, 60 per cent of our GDP are small companies,” he said, adding that most Czech companies in Malaysia are small companies mainly in technology sector. — Bernama
