[COLUMNIST] The century of Turkiye, stronger ties with Malaysia

As the Ambassador of Türkiye to Malaysia, I am honored to witness these significant milestones in our history. At a time when my country is over a century old, I feel most privileged to represent Türkiye in such a brotherly nation.

Last year, we celebrated the centennial of our Republic, founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and long-lasting wars against the occupying forces. Republic of Türkiye is one of the most outstanding examples of how a united nation can succeed for its existence and unity even under the most difficult conditions.

Our President, HE Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, transformed that centennial anniversary into the launch of a new vision known as the "Century of Türkiye," which aims to define the century ahead. This vision outlines a comprehensive dedication to elevate our nation beyond the standards of contemporary civilizations.

“The Century of Türkiye” symbolizes the commitment to realize the long-standing goals of our nation and to achieve even greater milestones. As we advance toward these goals, I firmly believe that our already strong relations with our friendly country, Malaysia, will be further enhanced across all fields.

We, Türkiye and Malaysia, share deep-rooted bilateral ties, with a history of brotherhood dating back to the relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Malay Archipelago in the 16th century. Diplomatic relations were established in the year of 1964. We are heirs to the close and cordial relations established by our respective peoples over the centuries.

In recent years, bilateral ties between our two countries have seen significant expansion. In 2014, which marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, we established "Strategic Partnership" between our countries and in 2022, it was further advanced to the level of "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership." Our countries also collaborate closely in multilateral forums, particularly within the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the D-8. Likewise, Türkiye is “Sectoral Dialogue Partner” of ASEAN.

High-level visits between our two countries are instrumental in fostering political relations. In July 2023, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Penang, Malaysia, while Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim made two visits to Türkiye. The Defense Ministers of both countries visited each other, among the many other reciprocal visits this year.

In strengthening the enduring bonds of friendship between states, commercial and economic cooperation plays a crucial role. In this context, Türkiye and Malaysia took a significant step to enhance their commercial relations through the free trade agreement signed in 2015. The volume of trade has increased substantially, rising from $3.5 billion in 2021 to $4.6 billion in 2023. Malaysia remains as our largest ASEAN trading partner.

Despite the physical distance between Türkiye and Malaysia, the Turkish government is willing to develop economic, commercial and technical cooperation with Malaysia wherever possible for both countries' mutual benefit.

Türkiye's defense industry is already part of the global competition and this sector is one of the most important dynamics of our cooperation with Malaysia. Within the framework of military cooperation, the TCG Kınalıada Corvette visited Port Klang last in May 2024.

We want to increase our relations in the fields of culture and education. “Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center” in Kuala Lumpur is the biggest Turkish language center in the region. We are very pleased with the interest of Malaysians who want to learn Turkish. Also, we want more Malaysian students to benefit from our country's higher education scholarships like Türkiye Scholarships.

There is also great potential in the tourism sector. Last year, we hosted almost one hundred thousand Malaysian tourists in our country. There are two flights daily between Kuala Lumpur and Istanbul by Turkish Airlines.

There are vast areas of cooperation that we can deepen and reciprocal political will in both countries under the leadership of HE President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and HE Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

This brotherhood draws its strength from history, a cherished common religion and similar traditions. As being at the two wings of the Islamic world, we are ready and eager to deepen our relations.

On the occasion of the 101st National Day of the Republic of Türkiye and the 60th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, I would like to thank all Malaysians for celebrating the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye and underline that I am very confident that our two nations will continue to progress and prosper hand in hand in the years to come.

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** The statements in this article are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Astro AWANI editorial team.