Erdogan expresses solidarity with Malaysia in Covid battle during meeting with Azmin

International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali today paid a courtesy call to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the end of an official visit to meet with business leaders in the republic as well as to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

A photograph of the visit was shared on the presidential Twitter account.

At the meeting, Erdogan expressed Turkey’s solidarity with Malaysia in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as an interest in working closely with Malaysia on vaccines.

“In this vein, the senior minister expressed Malaysia’s ardent hope for both countries to emerge from the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, stronger and more resilient, on to a path of vibrant and sustainable economic recovery and growth,” said a statement released by the international trade and industry ministry (Miti).

It said Azmin also informed the president of an agreement to expand the free trade agreement between the two countries, as well as efforts to enhance their cooperation in defence.

“The president noted that there are 14 MoUs in the defence sector that are currently in place. He stressed that realising these MoUs is of critical importance to ensure that both sides truly gain from such arrangements,” Miti said.

Erdogan also invited Malaysian state-owned enterprises such as Khazanah to boost their investments in Turkey.

They also agreed that a meeting should be held between officials to advance discussions on the bilateral currency swap agreement, in the wake of a recent meeting between the central banks of the two countries.

Erdogan last visited Malaysia in late 2019 to attend the Kuala Lumpur Summit hosted by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, during which Turkey signed 15 agreements in various fields.

Turkey is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner in West Asia after the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with a total trade of RM9.62 billion.

Malaysia’s total trade with Turkey surged by 79.4% to RM6.70 billion for the first five months of this year.