Mapping Malaysia's Resource Centres

10 MAPPING MALAYSIA’S RESOURCE CENTRES FOREWORD MALAYSIA EXTERNAL TRADE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (MATRADE) In September 2014, a project was initiated under the Reverse Linkage (RL) initiative between Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia. The objective was to introduce new rice varieties, improve soil fertility management and developing agronomic practices for sustainable rice production in Brunei. In this instance, the Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (MARDI) assisted our neighbouring country in developing expertise and know-how towards improving local production capacity. On a comparable bearing, a similar engagement took place between Indonesia and Kyrgyz Republic to improve livestock productivity through genetic development of local breeds, strengthen human capacities and offer technical support. There are many more projects of this calibre that have been spearheaded by Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) under its RL programme, which is essentially a South-South Cooperation where 57 member countries themselves become primary and forefront agents in the sharing of expertise, knowledge and technology. It’s a timely development as every member country is subject to its very own geological and socioeconomic dispositions; making the notion of nations lending a hand to one another an aptly devised prospect. It was in view of this immense potential that in November 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Ministry of Finance Malaysia with IsDB. This in turn led to MATRADE being appointed as focal point for the RL initiative; driving local resource mobilisation and mutual co-operation among public and private sectors. In account of this, MATRADE has undertaken the publication of Mapping Malaysia’s Resource Centres (MMRC) Directory as a reference document of Malaysian expertise in various sectors to be disseminated to IsDB member countries. MATRADE is proud to collaborate with IsDB and Ministry of Finance Malaysia to publish this important directory. From Aerospace and Agriculture; to Education and Training, stakeholders from various IsDB communities will now have an abundance of resources drawn from Malaysian expertise at their disposal. Indeed, the MMRC Directory is a step in the right direction by nations determined on enhancing solidarity and forging partnerships bound for common goals through synergy. As such, I hope this directory will be used to its full potential in making lives better and realising our aspirations as individuals, communities and nations. Dato’ Wan Latiff Wan Musa CEO, Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE)