DUBAI, Oct 17 — The Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD) will hold a meeting with the management of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) Global 2023 in the near future to see the opportunities available in bringing the exhibition to Malaysia.

According to Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, this is an excellent opportunity to place Malaysia in one of the global events involving various international technology companies if GITEX can be held in Malaysia.

"I will hold a meeting with the management to bring Gitex to Malaysia in the future,” he told Bernama during an engagement session with the Malaysian diaspora in Dubai held outside Gitex Global 2023 here.

The engagement session also witnessed the submission of eight memorandums of understanding by companies in Malaysia, Dubai and the Middle East, six of which are for 'market access' and two are investments.

He also hoped that the four-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could spur discussions between companies and give a good signal that 'Malaysia is open for business', particularly from Middle Eastern companies, especially the UAE.

Regarding the courtesy visit to the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Omar Sultan Al Olama, Fahmi said he would like to see the potential and development in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and digitisation in the UAE.

"The UAE has many things that we can learn and discuss, and see if it is suitable for us to use for the growth of the digital economy in Malaysia,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian ambassador to the UAE Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the visits by officials from Malaysia, namely Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim; Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Fahmi, are seen as a good momentum in strengthening the bilateral relation between the two countries.

"Currently bilateral trade between the two countries is around US$8.75 billion (RM41.4 billion) and with this momentum set by the prime minister and ministers, there will be more to come,” he added.

Bilateral trade reached RM38.73 billion in 2022, representing a significant increase of 73.5 per cent year-on-year.

In terms of investments, the UAE is currently the largest investor in Malaysia from the West Asian region and ranks as the second largest among the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states.

The 43rd edition of Gitex Global will be attended by more than 6,000 companies from 170 countries from October 16 to 20 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, while Expand North Star (ENS) will be held from October 15 to 18 at the Dubai Harbour. ― Bernama