Iran-Malaysia bilateral cooperation will be enhanced

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 1 -- The largely diversified Iran-Malaysia bilateral cooperation will continue to be enhanced for further progress, an Iranian official said here on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Bernama, Malaysia's national news agency, that he was pleased to see cooperation in the areas of energy, banking, housing and transportation between the two countries.

Mottaki, who arrived here on Sunday to attend The Group of Eight Developing Islamic Countries (D8) scheduled to be held on Nov. 2 here, said that both Iran and Malaysia were guided by strong political leadership to pursue the right path in their bilateral relations.

According to Bernama, to date, Malaysian investment in Iran amounted to 40 billion U.S. dollars.

While the investments were mainly parked in the oil and gas sector, new investments were also made, especially in infrastructure construction.

Malaysian government-linked companies such as Petronas, national oil and gas company, Proton, national car maker and Telekom Malaysia, national telecommunication company, have made inroads in the nation since mid-1990s.

In 2008, Malaysia said at the 7th meeting of the Iran-Malaysia Joint Commission that there were at least 20 areas of cooperation that both countries needed to work on, including trade and industries, culture, diplomacy, as well as politics.