Ismail Sabri meets Japanese counterpart, proposes upgrading ties

In the meeting at the Kantei, the Japanese Prime Minister's Office, Ismail Sabri, accompanied by a high-profile delegation, held bilateral talks with Kishida to strengthen the long-established Malaysia-Japan relationship.

This is the first face-to-face meeting between Ismail Sabri and Kishida on bilateral talks since they assumed their posts in 2021.

Ismail Sabri and Kishida had earlier held the Japan-Malaysia conference via telephone on April 20 this year, which saw the two leaders touching on various regional and international issues.

"We wish to propose upgrading our ties from strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership," said Ismail Sabri at the bilateral meeting.

Malaysia-Japan ties had been upgraded from enhanced partnership to strategic partnership in 2015.

The meeting was held in conjunction with Ismail Sabri's official working visit to Japan, during which he participated in the 27th International Conference on the Future of Asia, an annual gathering of political, economic and industry leaders from the Asia-Pacific, and met with business and corporate figures in Japan to attract investments to Malaysia.

Kishida was also playing host to a Malaysian prime minister for the first time after he was appointed Japan's Prime Minister in October last year.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy, which has contributed greatly to strengthening bilateral ties between Malaysia and Japan.