JOHOR BARU: Johor is expected to begin discussions with the Federal Government regarding the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) next week.

       Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said it was the first time that Johor was involved in the IMT-GT and the new development area could help the state in its road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

       "Along with the northern states such as Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Perak, Johor was recently invited by the Federal Government to be a member of the cooperation.

       "It was understood that Indonesia wants to develop the Riau Islands as its new growth area.

       "As such, Johor was seen as a suitable option to be included in the IMT-GT cooperation in efforts to develop Malaysia’s west-coast districts.

       "Discussions will be held next week where we will talk about building regional economic ties," he said when launching the Johor Tertiary Student Icon Award here on Nov 3.

       He believed that Johor had all the potential to make it work because before the Covid-19 pandemic, the state enjoyed higher economic growth compared to the country’s national rate.

       "However when faced with the pandemic, Johor was hit twice as hard compared to the other states due to the border closure and this affected our state’s economy badly," he said.

       He added that Johor’s involvement in the IMT-GT meant that it was part of yet another regional development authority on top of the existing Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) and the East Coast Economic Region (ECER).

       On Oct 28, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who chaired the 13th IMT-GT Summit, welcomed Johor, Terengganu and Pahang as the new members of the IMT-GT cooperation.

       He said the new additions were in line with Malaysia’s agreement to adopt Economic Corridor 6 and the five reconfigured economic corridors as recommended by the Asian Development Bank, and the proposal to expand the geographical coverage of the IMT-GT to include the whole of Peninsular Malaysia.

       Chaired by Malaysia, the 13th IMT-GT Summit was attended by member countries as well as ADB and Centre for IMT.

       It was held at the sidelines of the three-day virtual 38th and 39th Asean Summits and Related Summits which began on Tuesday (Nov 2) under the chairmanship of Brunei.