KOTA KINABALU — Sabah is looking to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Italy, particularly in investment, oil and gas, tourism and higher education.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor said Sabah welcomed the Italian government’s and businesses’ interest in exploring investment opportunities in the state.
“We welcome the interest of the Italian government and businesses to explore the business opportunities in Sabah further,” he said after receiving a courtesy call from Italian Ambassador to Malaysia Raffaele Langella at Menara Kinabalu here on Oct 26.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Langella said Italy was keen to explore business opportunities in Sabah and would welcome assistance in identifying potential investments.
“The interest in Italy is huge. They know there are many opportunities to explore in Sabah. But they need assistance, perhaps in scouting for investments, so I discussed with the Chief Minister how we are going to go about it,” he said.
He said Italy also hoped to help promote Sabah in conjunction with Visit Sabah Year 2027.
“Next year, it will be Visit Sabah Year 2027, so we would like to give a helping hand (in promoting Sabah),” he said.
Langella said higher education was another promising area for cooperation, with Italian universities keen to expand their presence in the region.
“University cooperation is a very interesting field and promising. Italian universities are more and more competitive, and they are very much interested in expanding their activities in this part of the world, and in Sabah in particular,” he said.
He expressed hope that the meeting would pave the way for closer bilateral relations and lead to meaningful outcomes in the future.
Also present was Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Ceasar Mandela Malakun.
