He said the country must develop and strengthen industry clusters in areas that will be drivers for Malaysia's future growth, such as Islamic finance, downstream palm oil and higher value add electronics.

"Emerging as regional or even global centres or clusters in key areas will provide a resilient and sustainable platform for future growth," he said.

Delivering his keynote address entitled "Lessons from Beyond the Dismal Science" at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2009, he said Malaysia as a relatively small economy had to remain adaptive to the changing global environment and to build up strong symbiotic relationships.

He said the crisis had accelerated the trend of global growth centred in Asia, particularly, in China, India, Indonesia and the Middle East.

"Malaysia is uniquely primed to benefit from the emerging new world order. It is well positioned in the centre of Asean and Asia," he said.

Nor Mohamed said the country could forge partnerships with other countries to jointly access regional markets, particularly in areas such as halal products and Islamic finance.