SEOUL: Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, said the second wave of the Look East Policy (LEP 2.0) will give a special focus on economic cooperation with South Korea and for a start it will be in line with Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme and South Korea’s Creative Economy initiatives.

He said emphasis would be on developing strategic sectors such as automotive, small and medium enterprise (SME) development, trade and applied research and development to leverage on each other’s trade and investment environment ecosystem.

“To drive implementation of LEP 2.0, both Malaysian and South Korean governments will leverage on the existing cooperative channels on bilateral industrial cooperation in automotive, electrical and electronics/information and communications technology, plant, and trade and investment to explore new areas of collaborations,” he told the Malaysian media here today.

Mustapa is here as a member of the Malaysian delegation for the three-day official visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to South Korea, beginning today.

He said Malaysians had over the past three decades benefited from the Look East Policy with South Korea, particularly in training and education in the fields of science and technology in South Korea.

The skills, knowledge and experience acquired in South Korea in turn have enriched the Malaysian economy and now the second wave of the policy is more economic-oriented.

Nevertheless, LEP 2.0 would continue building on the existing human capital development programmes such as youth exchange programme and scholarships by the Malaysian government and also the South Korean Government, he said.

The scholarships are given through the Public Service Department scholarship programmes, scholarships by top Korean Universities which include Seoul National University, Information and Cooperation University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the Korean International Cooperation Agency.

The minister said South Korea was Malaysia’s seventh largest trading partner in 2013.

For the past 10 years, the average annual growth of bilateral trade between Malaysia and South Korea was at 8.07 per cent, he said.

Mustapa said in 2013 total trade with South Korea increased 13.6 per cent to USD18.03 billion (RM56.85 billion) from USD16.20 billion (RM50.04 billion) in 2012.

From January to October this year, the trade increased 7.9 per cent to USD15.41 billion.

South Korean companies, he said, continued to be among the major investors in Malaysia and in 2013, they were the second largest investors with approved investments amounting to USD1.67 billion in 13 manufacturing projects.

From January to September this year, South Korea remained among the top 10 foreign investors with approved investments amounting to USD472 million in electronics and electrical products, basic metal products, plastic products and wood and wood products.

Mustapa said as the Chair of Asean next year, Malaysia would also work together with its Asean colleagues to prepare the business community in Asean for the new environment, especially when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is formed by the end of next year.

“Due emphasis will be given to strengthening SMEs which are the backbone of all economies in the region by deepening their participation in the global production and supply chain, which we believe will further enhance Asean’s economic growth.

“With the new theme ‘Towards a People-Centred Asean’, Malaysia is looking forward to contribute to regional economic integration, including the realisation of AEC and the development of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” he said.