Malaysia’s achievements during the 2025 Osaka World Expo and its current tenure as ASEAN Chair have established the country as a reliable partner for advancing sustainable growth, regional integration, and global investor confidence, laying the groundwork for Visit Malaysia Year 2026 and future development.
According to Datuk Hairil, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Malaysia’s record-breaking achievements at the Osaka Expo reflect the nation’s competitiveness and a whole-of-government approach that enabled various ministries, states, and agencies to collectively showcase their strengths.
He pointed out that the Osaka Expo has strengthened Malaysia’s cultural diplomacy and created pathways for SMEs to access Japanese and regional supply chains, aligning with the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030), the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR), the 13th Malaysia Plan, and the national priorities under the MADANI Economy.
“There is particularly strong investor interest in the fields of semiconductors, advanced chemicals, green technology, and halal products—areas that align closely with Japan’s green and digital transformation agenda.
“To ensure that business opportunities from the Osaka Expo are translated into actual projects, MITI and its agencies have launched a structured follow-up mechanism, including a new Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to accelerate the realization of Japanese investments.”
During the six-month Osaka Expo, the Malaysia Pavilion achieved remarkable results, recording RM24.45 billion in potential trade and investment—surpassing the original target of RM13 billion—and signed 79 memoranda of understanding and cooperation agreements in various high-impact sectors, totaling RM6.04 billion. These sectors include semiconductors, renewable energy, education, and agriculture.
In addition, Hairil said that aside from the Osaka Expo, Malaysia has also made significant progress as the 2025 ASEAN Chair.
He noted that, during this period, the country seized the opportunity to emphasize the urgent need to further strengthen intra-ASEAN trade to boost regional resilience and safeguard supply chains.
“In this regard, Malaysia is actively pushing for the completion and signing of the upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) within this year as part of its Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs), marking the first comprehensive update of the agreement since it came into force in 2009.
“The upgraded agreement not only aims to bolster intra-ASEAN goods trade but also modernizes the framework to better reflect the current realities of a rapidly evolving global economy.”
Several key frameworks, such as the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) and the ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Safety Network Framework, are further aligned with NIMP 2030’s high-value manufacturing and innovation objectives.