Turkiye, Malaysia ties raised to comprehensive strategic partnership

The ties between Türkiye and Malaysia have been raised to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on August 4.

Speaking during a joint press conference with his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur, Çavuşoğlu said agreements were signed between each government, company and university, according to the Turkish news website Daily Sabah. 

"And I would like to take this opportunity to thank Malaysia for the continued support in enhancing our institutional relations with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Malaysia is a key actor in its region and in the Muslim world," Çavuşoğlu said.

Noting that Türkiye looks forward to the visit of Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah, the top Turkish diplomat vowed to intensify parliamentary cooperation and looked "forward to the establishment of the parliamentary friendship group by the Malaysian side."

Regarding trade volume between Türkiye and Malaysia, Çavuşoğlu said it grew by 60% and reached $2.42 billion in the first half of this year.

"We have a trade volume target of $5 billion, it appears that this target is achievable this year. Obviously, we need to work for a more balanced trade," he added.

Announcing the completion of negotiations to expand the existing free trade agreement (FTA) between Türkiye and Malaysia, Çavuşoğlu said the deal is to be ratified soon.

The FTA between Türkiye and Malaysia, which was signed during then-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to Türkiye in April 2014, came into force on Aug. 1, 2015, and constitutes the first ever FTA that Türkiye concluded with an ASEAN member.

The Turkish foreign minister further said the two countries will continue cooperation on mutual concerns such as the Rohingya people, the situations in Afghanistan a Palestine, regional issues, and the fight against Islamophobia.

"We agreed to increase our humanitarian and assistance to people in Afghanistan," Çavuşoğlu said while voicing hopes to expand and deepen Türkiye’s cooperation with Malaysia in the future.

For his part, Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah said his country looks forward to "working much closer" so "the relations between the two brotherly countries can be enhanced."

Malaysian and Turkish officials also agreed on exploring "new potential areas of investment, particularly in the area of the digital economy, the military, and defence industry."

"We also discussed issues on food security, especially in the current situation as an effect of what is happening because of the Ukraine conflict," he added.

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Malaysia were established in 1964. Both countries enjoy a broad-based and close partnership. On Jan. 10, 2014, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declared the elevation of the bilateral relationship to the level of strategic partnership, which is the result of the progress achieved since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, as well as the depth of political, economic and cultural ties.

As members of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the D-8, Türkiye and Malaysia share a common perspective on a broad range of regional and global issues.