Written by Shayan Raza

 
According to Reuters, Kuala Lumpur In an effort to encourage investment and facilitate the flow of people and commodities between the two nations, Malaysia and Singapore announced on Tuesday that they had reached an agreement on a special economic zone in the southern Malaysian state of Johor.

A year ago, the neighbors of Southeast Asia first made a principled agreement to work together to establish the economic zone.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and key cabinet ministers announced the accord Tuesday while visiting Malaysia.

At a joint news conference with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim, Wong stated, "It's an important project... we can both be more competitive, enhance our value proposition, and jointly attract more investments to our shores."

"When negotiating the agreement, both sides have actively engaged stakeholders to ensure that the SEZ has the conditions to help our businesses grow together for the longer term."

Anwar claimed that because it was uncommon for two nations to collaborate on a single project, the SEZ was a unique venture.

In industries from manufacturing and logistics to tourism and energy transition, the two nations hope to draw high-value investments to Johor, Malaysia's Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli told reporters.

Within the first five years of its establishment, they hope to create 20,000 skilled employment and complete 50 projects at the economic zone.

 

According to Rafizi, Singapore would establish its own fund to encourage investments and assist Singaporean businesses operating in Johor, while Malaysia will establish and oversee an infrastructure fund to assist businesses wishing to establish there.