Malaysia in on China’s Silk Road plan

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s recommendations for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road economic belt have been incorporated in China’s outline of the plan, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pic).

Liow, who met his Chinese counterpart Yang Chuantang for a bilateral meeting in Beijing on Monday, said that Malaysia’s recommendations had been incorporated into the outline.

“China will be sharing the final version of the outline with Asian ministers, in particular those from Asean countries,” said Liow in a statement made available here yesterday.

Liow said that Malaysia’s proposal was made during the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 20th Asean Transport Ministers Meeting in Myanmar in November.

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road would involve the cooperation of all countries along the route and more than 50 countries had expressed their support for the initiative, he said.

China’s proposal to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is aimed at exploring the unique values and concepts of the ancient road and actively developing economic partnerships with countries situated along the route.

It is a global initiative that pursues win-win results through cross-border cooperation.

Liow said that the Silk Road initiative would strengthen connectivity between China and the Asean nations and support economic growth and trade activities within the region.

The project will focus on building roads, railways, ports and airports across Central and South Asia.

An overland route will pass through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Iran en route to Vienna in Austria; and a maritime route will be from Chinese ports to Belgium’s Antwerp.

The initiative also serves as an opportunity for Asean countries to speed up the plan to establish the Asean Economic Community.

Liow said he also took the opportunity during the meeting to reiterate that the search for MAS Flight MH370 remained a top priority for Malaysia.

To date, four specialised vessels had been deployed for the underwater search, he said.