Kuala lumpur: The government is ready to assess appropriate forms of cooperation should the Sabah state government wish to spearhead the state's economic transformation through the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the Economy Ministry said.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the BIMP-EAGA Vision 2035 (BEV2035) document, which was agreed upon during the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Special Summit held in the Philippines last May, has incorporated the whole of Sabah into two economic corridors. This integration signifies that Sabah's economic development is linked to and contributes to the cross-border economic development within the BIMP-EAGA sub-regional area.

The two economic corridors designated in the BEV2035 are the West Economic Corridor, which focuses on logistics and transportation, manufacturing and industry, tourism, and digital and financial services, and the Central Economic Corridor, which emphasizes cross-border trade, the halal industry, logistics, and supply chains.

The Economy Ministry emphasized that to accelerate development in these economic corridors, BEV2035 has outlined the establishment of a working group to facilitate cooperation among different economic zones across borders. The ministry stated that proactive and targeted policy coordination will ensure that Sabah not only remains a geographical participant in BIMP-EAGA but also emerges as a key economic hub and growth centre in Southeast Asia.