Zambry holds bilateral talks with seven nations at NAM meeting

PUTRAJAYA – Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from seven countries on the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday.

The seven are Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov; Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister of Iraq Fuad Muhammad Hussein; Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian; Foreign Minister of Nepal Narayan Prakash Saud; Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of South Sudan Deng Dau Deng Malek; Foreign Minister of Turkiye Hakan Fidan; and Foreign Minister of Venezuela Yvan Gil-Pinto.

The Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) said in a statement yesterday that during Zambry’s meeting with his counterpart from Iraq, both sides agreed to increase bilateral trade cooperation. 

“The deputy prime minister of Iraq also extended an invitation for Malaysia to cooperate in the reconstruction of Iraq, which is in the process of recovery following a prolonged period of war,” the statement read.

At the meeting with his counterpart from Azerbaijan, Zambry congratulated the country on its successful chairmanship of NAM from 2019 until the present, during which NAM has actively articulated its views on key issues in the international arena. 

“In addition, the foreign ministers agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations, which have now been in existence for 30 years,” said Wisma Putra.

Meanwhile, the meeting with the foreign minister of Turkiye focused on increasing bilateral trade as well as security and defence cooperation.

In addition, issues raised by Zambry during the relevant bilateral meetings included challenges faced by Malaysian companies abroad, the identification of new areas of cooperation, potential trade and investment, and other issues of mutual interest.

“A large number of requests for bilateral meetings with Zambry is an indication of Malaysia’s credibility as a dynamic, influential, and bold member state of NAM, especially in offering views regarding the current crisis at both regional and global levels,” said Wisma Putra. – Bernama, July 8, 2023