KUALA LUMPUR: There is no other way for the Islamic world to become self-sufficient and self-dependent other than strengthening trade cooperation among Muslim nations.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad highlighted on the importance among members of the Islamic world to help each other in enriching their respective countries.
Citing Malaysia’s case, Dr Mahathir said the country, which was colonised by the British prior to its independence on Aug 31, 1957, had naturally turned to Europe and the United States for trading partners.
“For the longest time, we did not even know there are Muslim countries in Asia.
“The situation now has changed. Some of them (Muslim nations) have become independent, they need some help to enrich themselves.
“And there is no better way enriching a country than through trade,” he told reporters here today.
He was asked to comment on his statement made during a round-table session held in conjunction with the on-going Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 (KL Summit) yesterday that the Islamic world was well poised to become a formidable force similar to the European Union (EU) if all Muslim nations could establish a strong marketing network among themselves.
Dr Mahathir, who is also the chairman of the KL Summit, was also asked on future plans among the 56 participating countries after the event concludes tomorrow.
“We are of the view that Muslim countries need to be self-dependent so that it can remain resilient in facing any form of threat including (trade) sanctions.
“That is why we proposed for the Muslim countries to have their own (unified) currency and for the nations to establish a more effective and stronger trade cooperation among them,” he said.
The idea for Muslim countries to have their own unified currency was coined by Dr Mahathir during the same round table session held yesterday.
By doing so, Dr Mahathir had said that such proposal would help to reduce dependency among the Islamic world to the United States dollar. --Report by Ahmad Fairuz Othman, Adib Povera, Teoh Pei Ying, Ayisy Yusof and Esther Landau