MH17: Malaysia, Australia committed to bring perpetrators to justice

Malaysia and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to bring the perpetrators behind the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 last year to justice.

This was stated by Malaysia's Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and his Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop during a bilateral meeting in Australia yesterday, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

The meeting was held at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in Melbourne, in conjunction with Anifah's working visit to that country from Nov 1-4.

The statement said both ministers also had an exchange of views on issues of common concern such as the Islamic State (IS) militant threat, illegal migration, the doomed MAS MH17 aircraft and other issues and possible avenues for cooperation between the two countries.

A total of 298 passengers and crew, 43 of whom were Malaysians were killed when the aircraft which was flying at 30,000 feet was shot down on July 17 in eastern Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

The statement said the main objective of the meeting was to exchange views on issues of common interest to Malaysia and Australia.

"During the meeting, the ministers also exchanged views on enhancing bilateral relations, including the forthcoming visit of the newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull," it said.

It said the visit was held in conjunction with the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit that would be hosted by Malaysia under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur this month.