New LIMA deals enhance ties between France and Malaysia
KUCHING: This year’s Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition was marked by the presence of a very strong French delegation, led by Minister of State for the Armed Forces Genevieve Darrieussecq.
French Ambassador Frederic Laplanche had declared that France’s decision to send a member of government to participate in this exhibition is a clear signal of the French government’s trust in Malaysia and of its commitment to the close relationship between the two countries in the maritime and aerospace sectors, both military and civilian.
“LIMA 2019 was a very successful exhibition, which served as a platform for announcing new investment initiatives by French companies in Malaysia, and new cooperation programmes between our Air Forces, and between our education institutions,” Laplanche said.
Together with the Minister of State, LIMA 2019 recorded the participation of a strong delegation from the French Navy, Air Force, Directorate General for Armament and State Air Safety Directorate, as well as 16 French companies, spanning from the very large and established industrial players to the most innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Darrieussecq had constructive and in-depth meetings with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Transport and the Deputy Minister of Defence of Malaysia.
This year’s exhibition also saw a number of new, concrete projects announced, which will contribute to building closer ties between France and Malaysia in the future.
Dassault Aviation announced its expansion to Malaysia through the acquisition of ExecuJet Malaysia’s MRO facility at Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur; this facility will grow to become Dassault’s regional MRO centre for the whole fleet of FALCON aircraft in Asia.
Airbus announced the opening, also in Subang, of a new regional completion and delivery centre for helicopters, as well as the
LIMA 2019 was a very successful exhibition, which served as a platform for announcing new investment initiatives by French companies in Malaysia, and new cooperation programmes between our Air Forces, and between our education institutions. Frederic Laplanche, French Ambassador
expansion of its training facilities to cover new types of helicopters.
The on-going acquisition of CEVA Logistics by French shipping giant CMA CGM will allow this company to control a logistics network of 500 employees and 10 sites in Malaysia. This further reinforces CMA CGM’s presence in Malaysia, where it already accounts for the major part of container activity at Westport, Klang.
MARA and the French industrial association IS Group signed a letter of intent to establish, in Melaka, a centre for expertise and training in composite materialmanufacturing and testing. This is a new, essential venture in the area of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
It will contribute to fulfilling the needs of Malaysia’s aerospace industry for skilled technicians, and to answer the growing demand, in particular from Airbus.
The French Air Force and the RoyalMalaysianAirForce(RMAF) signed a mutual recognition agreement for airworthiness of the aircraft they have in common, which means for example that, from now on, a French A400M transport plane can be maintained and repaired by RMAF engineers and vice-versa.
This is the result of years of close cooperation between the two Air Forces, and a very significant achievement by both side, which highlights the high level of trust between them.
Electronics giant Thales was recognised by Malaysia’s Ministry of Defence which granted the French company the award for Most Outstanding Industrial Collaboration Programme.