Erdogan undertook a two-day official visit to Malaysia in February last year, underscoring the close rapport between the two leaders - January 7, 2025
The Prime Minister says his three-day visit to Türkiye is aimed at giving renewed substance to Malaysia–Türkiye strategic ties, with talks covering trade, investment, diplomacy, education, security and regional issues
PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has begun his first official visit to Türkiye with a pledge to strengthen bilateral relations in a way that gives concrete meaning to the long-standing strategic friendship between the two countries.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the three-day visit, which began on Tuesday, is focused on substantive discussions to enhance cooperation across a wide range of strategic sectors, reflecting the growing importance of Malaysia–Türkiye ties.
He said his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, scheduled for Wednesday, will centre on expanding collaboration in trade, investment, diplomacy, education, security, culture and tourism.
“I regard this visit as very important. The President joked with me that if I did not come, he would no longer want to be friends because he had already visited Malaysia, and I consider him a close friend,” Bernama quoted Anwar saying in his speech at the Sentuhan MADANI programme with the Malaysian diaspora in Ankara on Tuesday night.
About 200 Malaysians attended the event, which was also graced by Anwar’s wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Malaysian Ambassador to Türkiye Sazali Mustafa Kamal.
Erdogan undertook a two-day official visit to Malaysia in February last year, underscoring the close rapport between the two leaders. Anwar noted that his visit to Türkiye comes nearly three years into his tenure as prime minister and fulfils Erdogan’s repeated invitations.
“However, I told him that even without an official visit, I had previously come to Türkiye twice, with the first visit taking place after the major earthquake that struck the country.
“After that, I stopped over here for several hours from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before travelling to Cairo, Egypt, to meet President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as part of efforts to seek support and firm commitments among Islamic countries in defending the plight of the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza,” he said.
Anwar arrived at Esenboga International Airport at 7.13pm local time on Tuesday, or 12.13am on Wednesday Malaysian time, aboard a special aircraft accompanied by his wife and members of the Malaysian delegation. He was greeted by Mohamad, Ambassador Sazali and Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Güler, who is also the minister-in-attendance.
During the visit, which runs until Jan 8, Anwar is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Erdogan and co-chair the Malaysia–Türkiye High-Level Strategic Council meeting.
He is also set to deliver a public lecture in Ankara and visit Istanbul, where he will engage with Turkish companies in a roundtable session and hold a media interaction to outline the future direction of Malaysia–Türkiye relations.
The visit takes place against the backdrop of expanding economic ties between the two countries. Malaysia’s total trade with Türkiye from January to November 2025 amounted to RM21.2 billion, equivalent to USD4.92 billion, underscoring Türkiye’s role as an important economic partner.
In 2024, Türkiye was Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner among West Asian countries, its largest export destination in the region and the fourth-largest source of imports, with total trade valued at RM24.15 billion, or USD5.28 billion.
Anwar said strengthening bilateral relations with Türkiye would not only enhance economic and strategic cooperation, but also reaffirm shared values and mutual trust that have underpinned ties between the two nations for decades. - January 7, 2025
