KUALA LUMPUR: Turkiye is currently finalising talks on a potential currency swap with Malaysia following similar deals with China, Qatar, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said the central banks of both countries were making efforts to expedite the plan.
"On the currency swap, we are working to expedite the signing of the Malaysia-Turkiye Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA) and also for both (central) banks to expedite the conclusion of the discussion on the currency swap within the parameters of the financial sphere," he said.
Saifuddin said this during a joint media conference with his counterpart from Turkiye, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in the parliament building here today.
Ankara has engaged in currency swaps with several countries following the currency plunge of the Turkish Lira, which lost 44 per cent of its value last year.
A currency swap is an agreement in which two parties exchange the principal amount of a loan and the interest in one currency for the principal and interest in another currency.
"The expansion of the MTFTA will cover new areas such as investment, services and e-commerce," said Saifuddin.
At the same time, Saifuddin said both countries had agreed to explore new potential areas of investment, especially on the digital economy from Malaysia's side and the defence industry from Turkiye.
He said there was also a discussion to empower knowledge-sharing between the two countries, especially through Malaysian and Turkish Muslim scholars from the International Islamic University Malaysia and Ibnu Haldun University in Istanbul.
"We are really looking forward to working much closer between the two foreign ministers and other ministers, so that relations between the two brotherly countries can be enhanced in the coming years."
Meanwhile, Cavusoglu said with Malaysia, being Turkiye's biggest trading partner in the Asean region, should expect better economic growth in the near future.
Cavusoglu said as of now, trade volume between both countries has grown by 50 per cent or USD2.42bil (RM10.8bil) in the first half of 2022.
"We have our target of USD5bil trade (and) it appears that this target is achievable this year. Obviously, we need to work for a more balanced trade and we will do our best.
"We will also focus on (areas such as) finance, technology, transportation, electric vehicles and tourism.
"Aside from that, the focus will also be on combatting terrorism and we will continue our cooperation on issues that concern the interests of the Ummah, including fighting Islamophobia, the Rohingya (issue) and the situation in Afghanistan where we have agreed to increase humanitarian assistance."