Anwar meets six MNCs including Google, Nestle on the sidelines of WEF 2025

Wednesday 22 Jan 2025

DAVOS, Switzerland (Jan 21): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held high-level meetings with business leaders from six multinational companies (MNCs) including AstraZeneca, Fortescue, DP World, Medtronics, Nestle and Google.

Arranged by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti), the one-on-one meetings took place on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Summit 2025 at the Mountain Plaza Hotel, here, where Anwar, who is also the finance minister, led the Malaysian delegation.

Also present were Miti minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo, Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, and the chief executive officer (CEO) of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, along with government officials.

Anwar spent half an hour in each meeting with the business leaders, starting with AstraZeneca's chief strategy officer Marc Dunoyer, followed by a meeting with the executive chairman and founder of Fortescue, Minderoo Foundation, and Tattarang, Dr Andrew Forrest AO.

The prime minister and Malaysian delegation then met with DP World, led by its chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, and also held discussions with Medtronics, represented by its senior vice president (Eurasia) Majid Kaddoumi.

The prime minister also sat down for a conversation with Nestle's executive vice president and CEO of Zone Asia, Oceania and Africa, Remy Ejel.

Finally, Anwar and the Malaysian officials had discussions with leaders from Google, represented by Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.

Meanwhile, Anwar through a post on X said he used the scope of the meeting to explore more investment and trade synergies for mutual benefits.

“The sessions are also a signal and the government's continuous efforts to convince and attract foreign investors, both new and old, to Malaysia.

“The global investment climate requires the government to be more active in expanding the radar of closer relations and cooperation to seize the opportunities that exist and bring benefits to the people and the national economy,” said the prime minister.

Anwar is currently leading the Malaysian delegation on a three-day working visit to attend the WEF Annual Summit 2025, here. This marks his first participation in the WEF since taking office in 2022.

With the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”, the high-level summit, which began on Monday and runs until Jan 24, will discuss, among other topics, the role and contribution of emerging technologies and the latest innovations in addressing global economic issues.

The discussions will focus on five thematic priorities — Industries in the Intelligent Age; Rebuilding Trust; Reimagining Growth; Investing in People; and Safeguarding the Planet.

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