PM welcomes proposal on food security framework with Saudi Arabia 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has welcomed the proposal by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Agriculture, Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, to cooperate with Malaysia in the food security framework.

He said via a post on his Facebook page today that this was due to Malaysia’s great potential in agriculture, including having a lot of land that could be cultivated. 

Ismail Sabri said AlFadley proposed the cooperation when he paid a courtesy call at Putrajaya today.

“TYT AlFadley and I see a lot of potential for cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry that can be jointly explored.

“I agree that Malaysia and Saudi Arabia should work together in the food security framework by establishing a joint committee to review as well as formulate policies on food safety,” he said.

At the meeting, the prime minister said AlFadley also touched on the prospect of ‘reverse investment’, which Malaysia could explore to address the issue of food security that is currently faced worldwide.

He said the Saudi Arabian government had used the same concept with other countries, such as the United States, South American nations, Ukraine and Australia.

“TYT AlFadley feels that this cooperation will be of great benefit to both nations... even the Saudi Arabian leadership is ready to support food security initiatives between the two countries,” he said.

Ismail Sabri said Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have a special relationship that has been established for a long time, not only in the context of people-to-people relations but also covering wide economic ties.

-- BERNAMA