Erdogan speaks with Muhyiddin, touches on Malaysia's big role

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Thursday shared his experience in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The 30-minute telephone conversation saw both leaders focused on the two countries' cooperation in addressing the current and post-epidemic threats.

“We agreed that Malaysia and Turkey should use each other’s strength in fighting the pandemic. In this regard, Malaysia is willing to cooperate in the development of COVID-19 vaccines and drugs.

“I also shared Malaysia's experience in dealing with COVID-19, including the implementation of a series of Movement Control Orders (MCO) since March 18, which saw the number of infections and deaths decline and the recovery rate now exceeding 80 per cent.

"In addition, we also discussed measures to strengthen existing bilateral relations and enhance cooperation in various fields including trade, investment, tourism, higher education, medicine and defence technology," he said in a status upload on Facebook on Friday.

He also expressed Malaysia’s sympathy and solidarity on the number of cases and the high number of deaths due to COVID-19 recorded in Turkey.

Muhyiddin said in the conversation, Erdogan also highlighted Malaysia's important role in fighting for the fate of the Palestinians.

“Turkey calls for Malaysia to remain active internationally, including strongly rejecting Israel's unilateral action against Palestine, including seizing Palestinian lands.

"I reiterated Malaysia's commitment to continue working with any country with the same objective to support the Palestinians to be free from Israeli occupation and to realize the aspirations of a free Palestinian state," he said.

To end the conversation, the two leaders agreed that all bilateral cooperation initiatives should resume once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.