RIYADH, April 29 — Malaysia and Saudi Arabia are in the midst of discussions about new investments into the country, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said he and his delegation are expected to finalise the details of investments from Saudi Arabia into Malaysia this evening.

"We will be announcing some new investments with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Anwar, who is the finance minister, here today.

He said this after witnessing the memorandum of understanding signing ceremony between the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group.

Anwar, who has been in Saudi Arabia for a three-day working visit since Saturday (April 27), has had a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Pakistan, Iraq, and Bangladesh, among others, amid the World Economic Forum Special Meeting and the IsDB annual meeting.

"I am having a private meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today. They have been to Pengerang in a big way and through IsDB.

"There are also some new ventures with the Kingdom in terms of digital technology and also energy transition, which gel with Malaysia’s priorities,” said the prime minister.

To recap, in March this year, the board of IsDB approved the US$100 million (RM477 million) Pengerang Energy Complex Project for Malaysia under the bank’s public-private partnership programme.

The project aims to develop a sustainable, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art aromatics complex in Pengerang, thereby adding value to Malaysia’s downstream oil and gas chain and economic growth.

"The Kingdom takes a more progressive and open position in terms of looking at globalisation, inclusivity, issues of equity and inequality, and our capacity to involve or venture into new aspects or instruments (like digital technology and artificial intelligence) would help immensely.

"At the same time, this is how countries can propel the economy through these sorts of networking between countries and some fiscal and institutional reforms,” he added.

Malaysia joined the IsDB on August 12, 1974. It has a capital subscription of 1.55 per cent worth 868.18 million Islamic Dinars, which is equivalent to one special drawing right of the International Monetary Fund.

The IsDB has funded 166 projects in Malaysia worth US$963.2 million.

Of these, 160 projects (US$945.8 million) have been completed and the other six projects (US$17.4 million) are ongoing. — Bernama