Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said the visit by Saudi Arabia's King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud had served to strengthen ties and was also testament to the brotherhood between the countries.
In a blog post today, the premier said there were four key outcomes from the visit which would be beneficial to Malaysians.
Firstly, he said Saudi Arabia had promised to triple the number of scholarships for Malaysian students studying in Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic University, Riyadh up from 100 scholarships presently.
"This means that more students will be able to further their studies in top universities in Saudi Arabia.
"This will also complement the government's allocation of RM4.3 billion for scholarships under Budget 2017," said Najib.
Bigger quota soon?
Secondly, Najib also said King Salman had responded positively to requests to increase haj pilgrim quota for Malaysia.
"(He) said that it would be given due consideration. Currently, the quota for Malaysian pilgrims for the 2017 hajj season is 27,900."
Malaysia had also submitted its request to set up two pilgrim centres - one in Makkah and another at the Masjid Nabawi in Madinah.
"This, too, received a positive response from King Salman and will be considered by the Saudi government."
Najib also took the opportunity to refute claims that the country was either going bankrupt or was being sold to outsiders through foreign direct investment.
"This is absolutely false. Foreign investment creates employment for our people, while we retain ownership and total sovereignty."
Increasing trade
Investments from overseas, he pointed out, were a strong vote of confidence in the country's economy.
With bilateral trade between the two countries standing at a modest amount of RM13.99 billion last year, Najib is however confident that this was about to change.
Pointing out how national oil company Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) would be investing RM31.08 billion in the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development Project (Rapid), Najib believes that this will create "a plethora of opportunities for our people, from jobs to growth in supporting industries like retail, finance, construction, services and many more".
"Other industries like the halal economy, Islamic financial services and small and medium enterprises (SME) will also prosper."
Besides investments in Malaysia, Najib said the monarch's visit had also given a new wave of opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
"There are many opportunities in Saudi Arabia for our industries and entrepreneurs."
Good for business
Citing Saudi Arabia's target to improve its life expectancy, Najib said this will open up opportunities for the healthcare industry, especially care services for the aging population.
Another example is Saudi Arabia's aim to increase umrah visitors from eight million to 30 million, he added.
"This will lead to growth in demand for sectors like telco and ICT, infrastructure, digital content, energy, tourism and hospitality, healthcare, green technology, retail and transportation.
"Unique opportunities will also be available for our businesses in sectors like e-commerce, renewable energy, entertainment and leisure, and financial services to name a few," added Najib.
King Salman arrived with a 600-strong delegation for his state visit to Malaysia last Sunday. It was the monarch’s inaugural state visit to Malaysia since his ascension to the throne in 2015.
Invited by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XV Sultan Muhammad V, Malaysia was also his first visit to South-East Asia since ascending the throne.- Mkini
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