Malaysia is becoming an attractive destination for many Qataris, who travel to the Southeast Asian nation for its education and leisure amenities, according to ambassador Ahmad Jazri Mohamed Johar.

Johar said that around 7,500 Qataris visited Malaysia in 2015. He credited the surge in tourist arrivals from Qatar to the series of promotional campaigns such as food and cultural festivals launched by the embassy.

“We have observed a steady increase; more and more Qataris, and expatriates working in Qatar, are now travelling to Malaysia. With the embassy’s launch of promotions and media coverage, we look forward to receiving more tourists from Qatar,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the visit of Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed on Monday.

Aside from leisure, Johar said some Qataris also send their children to colleges in Malaysia. “Our culture is the same; we have an Islamic base. Malaysia is an Islamic country, and halal food is not a problem,” the ambassador pointed out.

Speaking to select members of Qatar’s business community, Minister Mohamed stressed that tourism and education are among the major growth drivers of the Malaysian economy.

“We have 160,000 foreign students in Malaysia. And just like Qatar, we have several international universities, including educational institutions from Australia, the UK, and the US. As a leisure destination, we are ranked 10th worldwide in terms of tourist arrivals with 30mn visitors annually,” he said.

The minister also invited the business community to invest in Malaysia, which he said is strategically-located at the centre of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) market.

“If you do business in Malaysia, you can access these markets easily and conveniently because it is at the centre. With a population of 650mn, Asean is also a region with a sizeable market,” he stressed.

He emphasised that Malaysia trades with more than 200 countries. Among its leading products are electrical and electronics, as well as oil and gas, palm oil, and rubber, among others.

Citing major infrastructure projects in Malaysia, the minister said the government will spend $15bn in the next two to three years for its mass rapid transit project.

He said they are also building a high-speed rail between Singapore and Malaysia – a 400km journey that will take 90 minutes to travel from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

“This is one of the reasons why foreign investors are interested in Malaysia. The country remains an attractive business destination because of good infrastructure and good government support, as well as policies that are supportive of foreign investments,” he said.

The ambassador said the minister visited major Malaysian companies involved in mega-infrastructure projects currently ongoing in Qatar. He added that “unique” designer tiles from Malaysia will be used for phase two of the Qatar Rail project.