Malaysian Premier to visit New York, Washington tomorrow

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will make a nine-day working visit to New York and Washington DC starting Monday. In a statement, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said the visit was in line with the commitment expressed by Najib and US President Barack Obama during their bilateral meeting on April 12, 2010, in Washington DC to broaden the cooperation between the two countries. The highlight of the visit is the inaugural meeting of the Global Science and Innovation Advisory Council for Malaysia (GSIAC) at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), which will be chaired by Najib on May 17, the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) reported. The GSIAC is a joint initiative between the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and NYAS in pursuit of transforming Malaysia into a high-income economy through enhancing Malaysia's capabilities in science and innovation. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that Najib was scheduled to launch Invest Malaysia 2011 and deliver his keynote address at the conference at the New York Stock Exchange, also on May 17. Other programmes include a courtesy call by NYSE Euronext chief executive officer Lawrence Leibowitz, a luncheon with leaders of the financial industry, a series of individual meetings with corporate leaders of high profile multinational companies as well as officials from Wall Street and Dow Jones. Najib will attend a roundtable meeting and luncheon with the United States (US) Chamber of Commerce on May 18. The prime minister is also scheduled to witness the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs). In Washington, the Malaysian prime minister will visit the John Hopkins University and meet with senior officials of the prestigious institution. Najib is also scheduled to have an informal breakfast meeting with senior officials of the US administration. The statement said the working visit of the prime minister to the two US cities was expected to further strengthen bilateral relations between Malaysia and the US, especially in trade and investment as well as science and technology.