KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Turkiye is strengthening its multifaceted cooperation with Malaysia, especially in trade, defence and technology.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the current Malaysia-Turkiye trade volume has surpassed US$5 billion (RM21.3 billion), and Ankara aims to double that figure.
“Our trade volume is actually not reflecting the level of our friendship. We have just exceeded US$5 billion.
“Our target is, the immediate target is to reach US$10 billion,” he said during an exclusive interview on “The Nation: Diplomatic Dispatch” segment, titled “Malaysia, Turkiye and the Asean Outlook”, produced by Bernama TV and aired today.
Fidan attributed the close personal ties between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a key driver of bilateral cooperation, saying their strong relationship has created an environment conducive to advance joint initiatives.
“Our leaders are extremely close friends. Their closeness and good ties are really providing us a big umbrella, a cover, to advance our agenda together,” he said.
He also identified defence industry collaboration and microelectronics as promising areas of joint investment.
“I know our defence industry companies, the big ones, they’ve been trying to explore the opportunities in terms of technology cooperation. I think this is one good area,” he said.
On the topic of technology, Fidan noted that Malaysia holds a competitive advantage, positioning it as a valuable partner in this sector.
“This is what we really envy. This is what we are trying to really benefit from,” he said.
Fidan also proposed strengthening government-to-government cooperation in key areas such as renewable and traditional energy, highlighting potential collaboration through entities such as Petronas and Turkiye’s state-owned energy firms.
Fidan is in Kuala Lumpur for high-level talks in conjunction with the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings (AMM).
Turkiye has been an Asean sectoral dialogue partner since 2017.
The 58th AMM, which began Tuesday, is held under Malaysia’s 2025 Asean chairmanship with the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability”.
More than 1,500 delegates from Asean and its external partners are participating in 24 ministerial-level meetings over the course of four days.
— Bernama
