KUALA LUMPUR: Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) cautioned that recent financial crisis in Turkey will have some effects to Malaysia's trade with the country.
International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking said the government is ready in preparing some solutions to minimise the impact.
"Of course it will have some impact. We are always ready and we must cushion all of these impacts. We will come up with solutions. We hope this country will not be badly affected," he told reporters after officiating the Malaysia Aerospace Summit 2018 (MyAero'18) here today.
Darell is hopeful that Malaysia would be able to sustain exports to Turkey and get payment that are due despite the financial crisis in Turkey.
"However, it is still early and MITI will monitor the situation to ensure our international trade will always be protected first," he added.
He said MITI will be at the forefront to try and resolve trade and economy related issues but remained hopeful that Turkey would find solutions.
According to MITI, Malaysia's trade with Turkey amounted to RM12.06 billion, while export and imported accounted for RM10.51 billion and RM1.55 billion, respectively.
Asked on Pakatan Harapan's (PH) government 100-day trade performance of the country, Darrel said every decision made by the administration has affected the country's trade.
"Overall, you must look at it as an ecosystem. For example, the anti-fake news and Sales and Services Tax (SST) implementation.
"For international trade, this possibility is good as investors has given Malaysia another chance. The PH government needs transparency, certainty and consistency with precise decisions on the government.
"We know that the administrative system is recuperating. 100 days will not solve it when the country has had almost over 50 years of the same administration," he said.
Darrel said the government assured that the certainty is restored and ruled it would be more clearer in the future.
"Of course there are many challenges with the Asean region and the world.
"Malaysia will remain an open economy but as we face challenges, we have to rethink of various strategies on how to ensure the open economy that we want will not be affected and our interest will not be jeopardised," he said.
Darrel said the government would position Malaysia as the centre of all business, assured by investors and trade commissions.
Meanwhile, MITI organised MyAero'18 to promote local aerospace capability in producing world class aerospace products.
The event was also from collaborative effort led by the National Aerospace Industry Coordinating Office (NAICO) with various agencies including SME Corporation Malaysia, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre (AMIC).
Darrel said the aerospace industry has maintained its positive growth for the last two decades, citing that the country has positioned itself as one of the important suppliers to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.
Among products manufacturing locally include fan casing, fan cowl, leading edge panel, sharklet, nacelle beam, carbon brakes, automatic flight control and electronic flight display.
"Malaysia has a huge potential in the global aerospace business. Aerospace products are made in Malaysia are being supplied throughout the world and this has contributed to the growth of our aerospace export.
"To sustain our competitiveness, we have to focus on competency development and Industry 4.0 implementation that will lead us to produce high value added and complex aerospace products," he said.
He pointed out that Southeast Asia's dynamic regional aerospace market is gaining traction, which has left Malaysia well positioned to capitalise from this sector.
He said strong market demand has accelerated the development of local supply chain, noting that Malaysia is currently the home to over 230 aerospace companies.
"We are optimistic that the aerospace sector will continue to be a vibrant and thriving industry in the years to come, given that Asia Pacific region is expected to have the highest growth in new aircraft delivery for the next decade," he added.
The aerospace sector recorded a total revenue of RM13.5 billion last year, while exports accounted to RM8.51 billion.
Malaysia's aerospace manufacturing sector contributed about 48 per cent, while the maintenance, repair and overhaul activities made up to 46 per cent contribution.
Earlier this year, Darrel said Malaysia aerospace sector has garnered investments from GKN Aerospace, Senior Aerospace and T7 Kilgour.