PETALING JAYA: Malaysia and Brazil may expand partnerships in semiconductors, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim gets an invite from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to visit the country later this year.
These were among issues discussed by Anwar and President Lula (as he is popularly known) in a phone conversation on Friday (Feb 9), said the Brazilian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and Brunei in a statement issued on Feb 9.
"The two leaders spoke about the possibility of expanding trade relations between the countries, the fight against inequality and hunger, and advocated a ceasefire for the conflict in the Gaza Strip, as well as a reform of the global governance system.
"The Malaysian Prime Minister praised Brazil's actions on the international stage against social problems, welcomed the actions of Brazil's Presidency at the G20 and thanked the country for its support for a peaceful solution for the Palestinian people, as well as other issues in the Global South.
"We are going to have the G20 this year and one of the big issues that will be discussed is the question of inequality, hunger and poverty.
"And it is always a difficult problem because it depends solely and exclusively on leaders to put an end to hunger.
"In Brazil, we have worked hard to end the hunger of 33 million people," said President Lula.
"He highlighted the global fight against climate change and spoke about the energy transition process underway in Brazil, with the expansion of clean energy and investments in renewable sources such as ethanol, biodiesel, solar energy, wind power and green hydrogen.
"Brazil and Malaysia have an important partnership in the energy area: Malaysian state-owned Petronas has invested more than R$24bil (RM23.09bil) in the country, “ he added.
According to the Embassy, Anwar commented: "We really have similar problems, and we invest a lot in renewable energies and green hydrogen."
The Embassy further stated that Lula and Anwar also discussed the possibility of a visit by the Malaysian Prime Minister to Brazil at the end of the year, close to the G20 Summit, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in November.
"The Brazilian president reiterated his interest in partnerships with the Asian country, especially in the semiconductor sector.
"Malaysia is home to six of the twelve largest global semiconductor companies," said the Embassy.
