Speeches & Statements

OPENING REMARKS

YB DATO’ SERI UTAMA HAJI MOHAMAD BIN HAJI HASAN

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MALAYSIA

TRILATERAL MEETING BETWEEN MALAYSIA, TÜRKIYE AND THE ASEAN SECRETARIAT

KUALA LUMPUR, 11 JULY 2025

His Excellency Hakan Fidan

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye,

His Excellency Dr Kao Kim Hourn,

Secretary-General of ASEAN,  

1.  On behalf of Malaysia, I warmly welcome you and your delegation to this Trilateral Meeting between Malaysia, Türkiye, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

2.  The ASEAN-Türkiye Sectoral Dialogue Partnership was established in 2017. Since then, our partnership has grown steadily, grounded in shared goals of peace, economic resilience, and people-to-people connectivity.

3.  Today, we stand on a solid foundation of cooperation, spanning the three ASEAN community pillars. The Practical Cooperation Areas (PCA) 2024–2028, provide a forward-looking framework to deepen our collaboration in several key areas.   

4.  These include the domains of political security cooperation, trade and digital economy, education, disaster management, and sustainable development. 

5.  In further consolidating this partnership, Malaysia welcomes expanding our defence industry cooperation as well as that of technology transfers.  

6.  Our economic relations are set to grow even further, with collaborations through the Türkiye-ASEAN Business and Investment Forum, and its support for MSME development and innovation partnerships. 

7.  Turkiye’s experience in the realm of egovernance, can be a great source of expertise in advancing digital integration, diversifying supply chains, and building collective resilience, and help us navigate current geo-economic challenges.

8.  On the socio-cultural front, initiatives like the Türkiye Scholarships-ASEAN Joint Scholarship Programme, training of ASEAN diplomats, and proposed cooperation on technical and vocational education and digital skills development, will reinforce our people-to-people links and nurture lasting cross-cultural ties.

Excellencies,

9.   Malaysia believes that ASEAN and Turkiye’s shared values, have resulted in the two being natural partners to champion multilateralism, peace, stability, prosperity, equality, justice, and humanity on the global stage.

10.   As principled and responsible members of the international community, we should lend our collective voices towards advocating a peaceful and just resolution to conflicts around the world, including the dire situation in Gaza.

11.  We must call for Israel to be held accountable, for its unrelenting violations of international law. Impunity has  emboldened it to attack other countries, and it will continue to destabilise the region and beyond if left unchecked.

12.  In closing, let us continue to strengthen our cooperation and chart a clear path forward that delivers tangible benefits for our peoples.

Thank you.