Making deals: Anwar (centre) with the Malaysian delegation at a press conference at the end of their Italy visit. — Bernama
ROME: Malaysia will acquire two maritime patrol aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) under a venture with Italian defence firm Leonardo, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister added that an order for 28 Leonardo AW149 helicopters was also in the pipeline under the partnership.
“Apart from that, we are eyeing multi-role support ships (MRSS) and littoral mission ships (LMS) under another partnership with Fincantieri, another big Italian defence firm,” he said at a press conference before flying off to Paris for the second leg of his official visits to three countries.
He will be in Brazil after leaving Europe.
In Italy, Anwar met with Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero, Leonardo senior marketing and strategic campaign vice-president Tomasso Pani and ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi, together with PETRONAS president and Group CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz.
The Prime Minister also said Malaysia and Italy agreed to enhance economic ties, focusing on energy transition plans that had piqued the interest of Japan and Indonesia as well.
ENI, Italy’s leading energy company and PETRONAS will merge their expertise and technology to embark on energy transition projects, including sustainable aviation fuel.
Other efforts included Perodua’s partnership with Magna Styer on developing battery electric vehicles, collaboration in carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), as well as investments in the modernisation of power grids.
CCUS is a set of technologies to capture carbon dioxide from industrial sources and the atmosphere, before utilising it for other products or stored in secure forms.
Talks also centred on support for Malaysia Sustainable Palm Oil and fairer evaluation under the European Union Deforestation Regulation.
Malaysia urged the Italian side to support negotiations on the ease of free trade agreement between Malaysia and the EU, among other things.
Anwar said the continuity of peace and stability in the South China Sea was discussed, adding that Malaysia also called for peace in Gaza and Ukraine.
