UAE, Malaysia sign major deals

General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces arrived on Tuesday in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on one-day visit at the invitation of Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia.Abu Dhabi struck deals worth billions of dollars with Malaysia, a state-owned company announced, as Kuala Lumpur seeks investment to boost the economy before polls due by June.The deals were announced after Najib Razak met Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the administrative capital of Putrajaya, just outside Kuala Lumpur. Abu Dhabi agreed to set up a $6.76 billion storage facility in Johor state in southern Malaysia, state-run 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) said in a statement. The facility will be able to store 60 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum and is for Abu Dhabi’s sole use, said the company.InvestmentAbu Dhabi’s investment arm will also set up a $5.79 billion investment fund with 1MDB, as well as support a financial district 1MDB is developing in Kuala Lumpur, becoming its “first major multinational anchor investor”, the company said.Najib has sought foreign investment as part of his aim for Malaysia to achieve “developed-nation” status by 2020.The foreign ministry said in a statement that trade and investment between Malaysia and the UAE has seen “tremendous” growth in recent years.Last year, the UAE was Malaysia’s largest trading partner in the Middle East with total trade amounting to $8.0 billion, up from $6.8 billion in 2011.The delegation accompanying His Highness includes, Lt. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority (EAA), Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court and Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Board Member ‘&’ Managing Director of the International Petroleum Investment Company