Monday 15 January 2001.
The Times of India Online
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's first ambassador to Cuba said on Sunday he sees the
communist state as an ally in attempts to counter Western economic domination. "Cuba
and Malaysia have a lot of common interest ... we have spoken up against Western
domination and have the same thinking on globalisation,"
ambassador-designate Mohammad Kamal Yan Yahaya told the official Bernama news
agency in an interview.
"There is also the potential to enhance trade ties ... the embassy can
facilitate a bigger Malaysian business representation in Cuba," said Kamal
Yan, who will leave for Havana in the middle of next month. "I'll try to
get Cuban President Fidel Castro to visit Kuala Lumpur ... the best opportunity
would be during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Bangladesh early next year,"
he said.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was in Cuba in April last year for the
inaugural South Summit of the Group of 77 developing nations. Kamal Yan, 46, was
previously deputy permanent representative to the United Nations. He is also
accredited to Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Mahathir
has sought to make Malaysia a champion of the developing world and frequently
expresses fears that unfettered globalisation will create a new form of Western
economic colonialism. (AFP)
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