TOKYO: Empowering the Malaysian Look East Policy and introducing the Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) content in the Malaysia-Japan bilateral ties are on the agenda for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob during his six-day official working visit here starting yesterday.

       The visit is the first for Ismail Sabri after being appointed as Prime Minister on Aug 21 last year.

       During the visit, he is scheduled to meet with his counterpart Fumio Kishida, who was appointed as Japanese Prime Minister last October.

       “This will be the first physical meeting between the two prime ministers,” Malaysian Embassy chargé d’affaires ad interim Nor’ Azam Mohd Idrus told the Malaysian media here.

       He said the two leaders would meet on Friday.

       Nor’ Azam said among the matters to be discussed during the meeting were Malaysia-Japan bilateral ties, including cooperation related to Covid-19, reopening of borders and the setting up of Tsukuba University in Malaysia.

       Malaysia reopened its international borders on April 1 while Japan has yet to fully do so.

       “The visit will also mark the 40th anniversary of Malaysia’s Look East Policy which has brought about a huge impact in strengthening the bilateral ties between Malaysia and Japan,” he said.

       During the meeting, both leaders would also witness the signing of three memoranda of cooperation between Malaysia and Japan.

       They are the memorandum of cooperation between the Malaysian government and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan on aircraft industry; memorandum of cooperation on a basic framework for information partnership for proper operation of the system pertaining to foreign human resources with the status of resident of “specified skilled worker”; and the memorandum of cooperation between the Malaysian government and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan on cooperation in the field of youth and sports.

       Ismail Sabri is also scheduled to deliver a keynote address at Nikkei’s 27th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo themed “Redefining Asia’s Role in a Divided World” on Thursday.

       During the keynote address, Nor’ Azam said the Prime Minister was expected to touch on efforts in enhancing regional economic integration, strengthening negotiation and cooperation mechanisms, cooperation in addressing climate change, and also share the concept of the Malaysian Family.

       “His (Ismail Sabri) participation will be the platform for Malaysia to share ideas and experiences in various initiatives to determine the future direction of the Asian region,” Nor’ Azam said.

       Ismail Sabri will also hold meetings with corporate leaders and businessmen from several leading companies in Japan to lure more foreign direct investment to Malaysia and strengthen the bilateral ties between Malaysia and Japan.

       Among the companies are those already established in Malaysia such as Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi Power and Marubeni, and also those with the potential to expand their operations in Malaysia. — Bernama