Singapore appoints non-resident Representative to the Palestinian Territories

Singapore Senior Minister of State (SMS), Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman, has reiterated Singapore’s commitment to support the capacity-building efforts of the Palestinian people during a working visit to the Palestinian Territories.

In a meeting with Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President Mahmoud Abbas, PNA Prime Minister Dr Rami Hamdallah, PNA Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Riyad Al-Maliki, PNA Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Sabri Saidam, and PNA Minister of National Economy Abeer Odeh in Ramallah, SMS Maliki disclosed that Singapore is appointing Hawazi Daipi as Singapore’s non-resident Representative to the PNA to coordinate Singapore’s Enhanced Technical Assistance Package for the Palestinians.

The PNA leaders welcomed the appointment.

SMS Maliki also reiterated Singapore’s consistent position and longstanding support for the two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security. He expressed the hope that both sides would resume negotiations and make progress towards a just and durable solution.

AEON woos Malaysian halal brands ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and AEON have organised a briefing on export opportunities in Japan for Malaysian companies. Held in Menara MATRADE on 21 December 2015, the initiative is part of MATRADE’s efforts to encourage Malaysian companies to tap into the emerging halal industry in Japan and to leverage on the demand expected for halal products and services during the Tokyo summer Olympics in 2020. 

AEON is one of the major retailers in Japan with businesses covering general merchandise stores, convenience stores, specialty stores and also real estate for retail, with more than 5,000 outlets in Japan. At the session, attendees were briefed on ideal ways to access Japan’s market through AEON and the requirements and procedures to supply to AEON’s supermarkets in Japan.
Japanese companies have been working to ensure that there are halal products for the sporting communities, tourist and Muslim populations in Japan ahead of the Tokyo summer Olympics in 2020, which will take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 in Japan. They have focused on Malaysian halal brands given that Malaysia is one of the world’s top halal products and services providers.

Japan is Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner for exports. In 2014, Malaysia's exports of processed food to Japan was valued at RM620.3 million, an increase of 32.7% compared to the previous year. The top five products that showed a significant increase were cocoa and cocoa preparations, prepared cereals and flour, edible products and preparations as well as sugar and sugar confectionery. For the first 10 months of 2015 (January-October 2015), exports of processed food showed an increase of 25.3%, valued at RM654.7 million.