[{"bbox": [97, 153, 1164, 207], "category": "Text", "text": "Implementing partners are chosen, among others, based on their capacity to bring added value to the EU-Malaysia partnership, especially experience of promoting alignment with EU interests, policies and values."}, {"bbox": [97, 232, 1164, 604], "category": "Text", "text": "Malaysia has one Global Gateway flagship project, which is the development of the Port of Lumut Maritime Industrial City (LUMIC). This project will remain a priority towards 2027, with a related project on the development of hydrogen/ammonia being explored. The rapid growth and development of the Malaysian economy, linked to the country's location alongside the Strait of Malacca, the world's most important trade route, has made Malaysia a maritime nation and a gateway to Southeast Asia. Port of Antwerp-Bruges International (PoABI) and Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak (PKNP), a state development agency, have formed a strategic partnership to enable the establishment and operation of the Lumut Maritime Industrial Cluster (LUMIC) in Perak state (which includes an initial investment of EUR 12 million by PoABI in the landlord company, LUMIC Development Sdn Bhd). Under the Cooperation Facility, the EU awarded a grant for feasibility studies and master plan by the two partners, in order to develop the port's potential as a logistics and industrial hub and to attract further investments. The development of this Belgian-led EU Global Gateway initiative has the potential to strengthen EU-Malaysia trade and economic relations. It can also contribute to reducing dependencies on unreliable suppliers by allowing a presence in the Malacca Straits by an EU co-owned/operated port to maintain unhindered trade access to both Malaysian strategic commodities and products (gas, rubber gloves, semiconductors, rare earths) and to its market."}, {"bbox": [97, 630, 1164, 1002], "category": "Text", "text": "In addition to the above-mentioned intervention, several other actions and activities under the Cooperation Facility are promoting policy dialogue on shared values and interests, supporting the external dimension of the Green Deal, and helping to protect the environment and biodiversity. An innovative and highly politically visible biodiversity project to save the Malayan tiger is supporting the establishment, in the State of Pahang, of the first tiger conservation reserve in South-East Asia. Through this project with Enggang Management Services Sdn Bhd (EMS), the Malaysian organisation appointed to manage the operations of the reserve, the EU will be associated to the emission of the first ever tiger bonds (to finance the reserve), as well as the development of biodiversity credits. The facility is supporting the forestry sector in the states of Sabah and Sarawak on sustainable practices, including compliance with the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). To empower Malaysian youth to effectively participate in climate action, a youth-led intervention provides an entry point to establish a youth sounding board on environmental issues and climate-related agendas. Several interventions with civil society organisations (CSOs) and with UN agencies support the promotion and protection of human rights and institutional reform. The facility is addressing people living in vulnerable and marginalised situations, such as children on plantations, or people in prison."}, {"bbox": [85, 1016, 340, 1046], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [97, 1062, 316, 1089], "category": "Text", "text": "Short problem analysis:"}, {"bbox": [97, 1115, 1164, 1300], "category": "Text", "text": "Through the Global Gateway the EU aims to provide a positive offer for its partners, to forge links and not create dependencies, to deliver on todays global challenges. This positive offer is built on the principles of: democratic values and high standards, good governance and transparency, equal partnerships, green and clean, security-focused, catalysing private sector investment. As highlighted in the EU Strategy for the Indo-Pacific, given the interdependence of the economies, the geopolitical dynamics and the common global challenges, the EU's rationale for cooperation in the region is a strong basis for a mutually beneficial relationship, all the while recognising the centrality of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)."}, {"bbox": [97, 1327, 1164, 1540], "category": "Text", "text": "Within this regional and global framework, the EU's cooperation with Malaysia takes place in the context of the country's transition to a high-income economy. To compete with other high-income countries, factor accumulation is no longer sufficient to maintain growth. Instead, broader economic development, focusing on the quality, rather than quantity, of economic growth is needed. This transition requires a complex reform agenda in order to: make growth more inclusive, sustainable and resilient; address structural inequalities and vulnerabilities; encourage investments in human and natural capital, social and physical infrastructure, innovation. At the same time, the interplay between coalition politics, elite-based networks and aspirations for reform of various segments of the population, as well as Malaysia's foreign policy stance, create a complex geopolitical, policy and communication environment."}, {"bbox": [97, 1566, 1164, 1620], "category": "Text", "text": "This perspective opens up various entry-points and areas for dialogue to foster mutual understanding and policy alignment. Flexibility will be key to responding and adapting to changes and to new or expanding areas of potential"}, {"bbox": [1035, 1680, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 17"}]