PM's working visit to Turkey to strengthen diplomatic relations

HIS Excellency Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob carried on with his working visit agenda to the Republic of Turkey, formerly known as Turkey. Alhamdulillah, this visit - which is considered productive and encouraging - yielded results that will surely benefit both countries.

Turkey, a country rich in history of Islamic development, witnessed the inaugural meeting between the main leaders of two Islamic countries, namely Ismail Sabri and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

This official visit to Turkey actualised because of a friendly invitation extended by Erdogan to Ismail Sabri in an effort to further strengthen diplomatic ties that have been established between the two countries since 1964.

Erdogan's invitation was also the Turkish government's tribute to Malaysia's 9th Prime Minister and the entire Keluarga Malaysia.

Numerous programmes and discussions were held throughout the four-day working visit, which began from July 5 to 8. They were conducted to explore opportunities for both countries to cooperate in the fields of economics, food security, aerospace, education and defence.

During this visit, the Prime Minister gave focus to issues pertaining to national food security caused by disruption in the global food supply chain which resulted in Malaysia's food supply being affected. Food security issues are not prevalent only in Malaysia, many countries are also facing similar issues due to conflict, climate change and economic crisis.

Thus, Ismail Sabri expressed his desire to cooperate with the government of Turkey to ensure that the food supply chain is always adequate and stable in both countries. Malaysia and Turkey have also agreed to undertake reverse investment related to food products in Türkiye to meet food security needs in Malaysia.

The annual wheat production of Turkey - a net exporter of the commodity - reaches almost 20 million tonnes.

Thus, the Prime Minister has informed Erdogan to buy wheat as well as give permission to Malaysian companies such as Boustead Holdings to carry out reverse investments in the food sector to bring back proceeds, especially for wheat.

This was one of the strategic measures implemented by Ismail Sabri in ensuring the country's food security, which has been slightly affected due to India's ban on wheat exports.

Meanwhile, in the economic sector, Türkiye is Malaysia's third largest trading partner and fourth largest source of imports in the Western Asian region with total bilateral trade exceeding USD$4.09 billion (RM16.97 billion).

The Prime Minister is optimistic that this trade volume will rise in the future through the expansion in scope of the Malaysia-Türkiye Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA), which is currently in its final phase of discussions and will be signed in the near future.

The expansion of MTFTA's scope involving e-commerce will facilitate access and expand the market for Malaysian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as well as unlock high-impact investment opportunities from Türkiye to Malaysia - creating new employment opportunities for Keluarga Malaysia.

Türkiye is a hub for the manufacturing of palm-based products for continental European and Central Asian markets. Therefore, the Prime Minister has invited Türkiye to increase Malaysian palm oil imports.

Besides that, Malaysia is exploring opportunities in producing environmentally friendly energy sources with Turkey - which is currently intensifying the use of biodiesel as a fuel in the transportation sector. This step is taken to meet objectives of the country's green agenda.

During this visit, Ismail Sabri also strengthened education cooperation between Malaysia and Türkiye through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between local universities such as Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), and Turkish universities. This cooperation will benefit the research fields of both countries for future development.

Ismail Sabri also conveyed glad tidings to President Erdogan - the Government of Malaysia has recognised degrees from 208 universities in Türkiye. This recognition is also regarded as good news for Malaysian students who are currently pursuing their studies in Türkiye, as well as students who have already completed their education.

Erdogan responded positively to the good news and expressed the Turkish government's commitment to increase sponsorships or scholarships to Malaysian students to pursue higher education in Türkiye in the future.

Insha Allah, this translates to more opportunities for children of Keluarga Malaysia who wish to continue pursuing studies in Turkey - which will see an increase in the number of Malaysian students there. There are currently over 57 Malaysian students studying in Türkiye, courtesy of the Turkish Government.

For cooperation in the health sector, Erdogan made an offer to Malaysia to work on the development of Turkovac, a COVID-19 vaccine of Turkish origins, together. His proposal was welcomed by Ismail Sabri, who has requested the Health Ministry to study the offer.

As for the tourism sector, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to further empower Malaysia as a world-class health tourism destination (medical tourism) through the Malaysian Healthcare Tourism Council (MHTC).

Malaysia's expertise in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), cardiology, oncology, dentistry, plastic surgery and many more fields, has made Türkiye one of our key markets.

The Prime Minister intends to modernise Malaysia's defence system by initiating close cooperation with the Turks, who are regarded as experts in this field. Measures taken on this matter does not only involve purchasing of military assets and equipment alone, but also involve investment and manufacturing by international defence industry players in Malaysia.

This approach will benefit Malaysia in terms of technology transfer, expertise, and high-skilled job creation. In fact, it will also benefit local industry players who will be involved in the supply chain in the future.

Simultaneously, as a long-term measure, the government aims to make Malaysia the region's hub for modern defence industries.

On issues pertaining to Palestine, Malaysia and Turkey have agreed to continue supporting Palestinians in their fight to end the Zionist regime. Malaysia appreciates Türkiye's efforts in defending the Palestinians.

Ismail Sabri has previously spoken about this issue at the Asean-U.S. Special Summit in May. The Prime Minister will be working together with like-minded countries in coordinating efforts towards ending the Zionist regime, as well as aiding Palestine to realise independence and gain sovereign state status.

The on-going Russia-Ukraine conflict has created a huge impact on the world including Malaysia in terms of global supply chain, inflation and the collapse of currencies.

The Prime Minister praised Erdogan's efforts in seeking a peaceful method to resolve issues. The two leaders have also called on all parties involved to take immediate action to sort out the conflict, which greatly threatens global peace.

In summary, Ismail Sabri's inaugural visit to Turkey was fully utilised to strengthen Malaysia-Turkey bilateral relations as well as enhance the level of relationship to reach comprehensive and strategic cooperation status in facing increasingly challenging global issues.

The government will continuously do its best to ensure results of this visit to Türkiye are beneficial to all of Keluarga Malaysia.


The writer is the press secretary to the Prime Minister
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