[Langkawi, 27 March 2019] The Ministry of Entrepreneur Development (MED) with the support from SME Corp. Malaysia had another productive day at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 (LIMA‘19), through a series of high level discussions with leading international and domestic aerospace industry players, as part of MED’s efforts in accelerating the development and integration of Malaysian SMEs into the global aerospace supply chain.
In the morning, Minister of Entrepreneur Development YB Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof attended the CEOs Round Table Meeting between the Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association (MAIA) and the French Aerospace Association (GIFAS) as part of MED’s continuous effort to closely collaborate with industry players to develop the Malaysian aerospace SME ecosystem. The Meeting was also attended by the Minister of Economic Affairs, YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali as well as senior officials from MED and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI).
Among the potential areas of collaboration between MED and GIFAS include developing Malaysian SME capability based on programmes implemented by GIFAS for French aerospace SMEs, namely Boost Aerospace and the 18-Month Programme for SME CEOs. MED is also considering potential joint ventures in terms of technology and digitalisation, development of SME-level supply chain and high-skilled workforce, use of a common digital platform for Malaysian SMEs, as well as upgrading SMEs capability in cybersecurity for secure data interchange platform
MED will also be organising a follow-up dialogue with MAIA members in April 2019 to follow-up on the opportunities post-LIMA’19 and to provide the necessary support and interventions for the local industry in order to address future expectations of investors.
Later, YB Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan met with Safran Landing Systems to explore potential collaboration on the development of drone-embedded unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), as well as Rolls Royce to explore areas of mutual interests with MED to garner inputs and better understand their future plans; in order to streamline Malaysian SME with the expectation of global aerospace anchor companies. MED is also arranging for Safran to meet with some Malaysian SMEs in the aerospace industry for prospective partnership opportunities in the next level of drone-UAV technology.
Discussions were also held with aerospace champions, namely Airbus and Thales on how local SMEs in the supply chain can leverage on the current developments for Industry 4.0 particularly through the offset programme. These engagements are crucial for MED and SME Corp. Malaysia to quickly plan and implement a holistic approach to nurture, assist and support SMEs in the aerospace industry.
All the engagement sessions were attended by MED’s Secretary General, Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi and Deputy Secretary General Dr. Anis Mahmud, as well as Encik Noor Azmi Mat Said, CEO of SME Corp. Malaysia.