H.E. Fahad A H Al-Rashid
Ambassador 
Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Malaysia

“It was way back in the days of the Malacca Sultanate when Arab traders and priests first came here. Over the centuries, the relationship has grown stronger especially after the spread of Islam in Malaysia. It has also expanded in recent years. Trade between the two nations surged from US$260 million in 1990 to US$3.66 billion in 2012 and Saudi Arabia is now Malaysia’s 19th largest trading partner. Bigger things are to be expected in the future from the business deals clinched during the latest Malaysian trade mission to Saudi Arabia in May 2013.

On the investment side, Saudi businesses have committed nearly US$1 billion here mainly in the banking sector. In 2006, His Royal Majesty King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, visited Malaysia and soon after that the Kingdom’s Al-Rajhi Bank – the world’s largest Islamic bank – set up an office. Since then, 24 branch offices have been established throughout Malaysia. Tourism has also flourished with mre than 100,000 thousand Saudi visitors arriving each year. In return, 136,169 number of umrah visa has been issued to Malaysians from January until August 2014.”

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