Turin, Italy, 8 October, 2014 ~ The European Bioeconomy debuts its Bioeconomy Observatory website today putting Malaysia’s Bioeconomy as the only non-European Union (EU) country to be highlighted in the newly launched website. The new web-site was unveiled in conjunction with the EU Bioeconomy Stakeholders Conference in Turin, Italy.
“Malaysia is the first country in ASEAN and the second in Asia after China that has established its own national Bioeconomy initiatives. Being the first non-EU country to be featured in the EU Bioeconomy Observatory website, provides a good advantage for Malaysia to highlight the country’s commitment and competitiveness in harnessing the potential of Bioeconomy and at the same time enhancing Malaysia’s visibility to the world,” said YB Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The Bioeconomy Observatory is created to map progress and measure the impact of the EU’s development in Bioeconomy. The information and data gathered within the web-site will be disseminated based on the three (3) key pillars as highlighted in the EU Bioeconomy Strategy:-
a) Investments in research, innovation and skills: research pillar
b) Reinforced policy interaction and stakeholder engagement: policy pillar
c) Enhancement of markets and competitiveness in bioeconomy: markets pillar
According to Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, CEO of Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp), the positive development reflected the confidence that the European Bioeconomy has on Malaysia’s efforts in promoting and implementing Bioeconomy in the country.
“EU Bioeconomy Observatory datasets, methods and models could be used for measuring and monitoring bioeconomy drivers, development and its impact to the Malaysian Bioeconomy. This will also open up avenues for possible collaborations between the EU Bioeconomy Observatory and the Malaysian government and will enable the development of “International Case Study” on the Malaysian Bioeconomy,” said Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee.
Hosted by the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in collaboration with the European Commission, the conference will also feature Malaysia in one of the sessions. Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee will be presenting on “Example of One International Partner: Information on Bioeconomy in Malaysia” during the Bioeconomy Observatory Stakeholders Roundtable.
The Malaysian Government through BiotechCorp is pushing through its Bioeconomy agenda with the implementation of the Bioeconomy Transformation Programme (BTP), a platform provided for the private sector to channel and maximise commercial opportunities in bio-based industries. Bioeconomy is slated to be a game changer for Malaysia to grow into a high income developed nation and will be a key contributor towards a productive, competitive and innovative economy.
“Since the launch of BTP in 2012, BiotechCorp has identified and evaluate a total of 25 trigger projects which are expected to generate a total GNI of USD1.3 billion (RM4.2 billion) in 2020, provide 18,100 job opportunities and secure cumulative investments of USD4.2 billion (RM13.7 billion) by 2020,” added Dato’ Dr Mohd Nazlee.
It is estimated that Bioeconomy will help boost Malaysia’s GNI between 8 – 10% by the year 2020. Ultimately, BTP is envisioned to target the overall investments of USD15.5 billion (RM50 billion), creation of 170,000 job opportunities and GNI contribution of USD14.9 billion (RM48 billion) by 2020.
