PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has generated more than RM7.2bil in business leads in the first two weeks of Expo 2020 Dubai, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic).

       The Prime Minister said this figure in potential trade and investment was garnered from 14 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), three letters of intent and two memoranda of cooperation between 14 Malaysian companies and their foreign counterparts.

       The foreign companies are China, Egypt, India, Iran, Oman, Qatar, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the United States of America.

       “This positive outcome came in the first two weeks of Malaysia’s participation at the expo, as the country began its economic recovery efforts post Covid-19.

       “We are confident of surpassing the total target of between RM8bil and RM10bil in trade business leads at the six-month long expo,” said the Prime Minister in a statement on Friday (Oct 15).

       The momentum is expected to maintain for the next 25 weeks, anchored by various ministries and agencies, including state governments, he added.

       The MoUs signed at the Expo 2020 Dubai cover, among others, the areas of blockchain and Internal of Things, oil and gas, robotic and automation hatchery of freshwater aquatic creatures and biotechnology research.

       The Letters of Intent and Memorandums of Cooperation cover the fabrication of 1,000 modular units of green smart homes, exclusive distributorship of unmanned surface vessels, artificial intelligence-driven agriculture systems and predictive maintenance of project solutions.

       The Malaysian Pavilion and Expo 2020 Dubai, designed as a rainforest canopy and themed “energising sustainability”, has recorded about 50,000 visitors to date.