Malaysia Australia Reaffirm Commitment To Strengthen Strategic Partnership

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Malaysia and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing cooperation in multifaceted areas of mutual interest, driven by a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) that both countries will build on.
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said he and his Australian counterpart, Penny Wong, had discussed in depth the various positive growth areas under the CSP.
The areas of growth include economy, people-to-people relations, technology as well stability and security in the region, especially in the post-Covid-19 pandemic period and beyond.
“We expressed our delight and satisfaction towards the positive growth of our multifaceted cooperation, especially in the post-Covid-19 pandemic period.
“Malaysia is confident that all of the various collaborative efforts made under the partnership will contribute significantly towards supporting the region to rise from the challenges posed by the pandemic,” he told a joint news conference with Wong at his office today.
Earlier, Saifuddin and Wong had a bilateral meeting that covered a wide range of topics concerning both countries as well as current regional and global issues.
Malaysia and Australia elevated their bilateral ties to CSP in February 2021. Australia also established a comprehensive partnership with Asean also last year.
Saifuddin said the digital economy and cybersecurity were among the key areas where both countries should strengthen cooperation.
Malaysia-Australia bilateral trade in 2021 amounted to US$14 billion (RM61.6 billion), an increase of 30 percent from 2020, he said adding that there were “ways and means to add to that number”.
People-to-people relation is one of the areas that can be further developed considering the fact that Malaysian students studying in Australia represent a significant number, amounting to about 12,000 currently.
Saifuddin said he had taken note of Australia's position on the humanitarian assistance it provided to Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Wong, in echoing Saifuddin, said in moving forward Malaysia and Australia would work to give greater momentum to the partnership.
She said Australia is ready to continue to be a wheat and meat supplier to Malaysia, especially at a time when global supply chains have been constrained.
“As comprehensive strategic partners, we will work with Malaysia on any required issue in terms of supply constraint arising from the (Ukraine-Russia) conflict,” she said.
As part of her three-day working visit to Malaysia, Sabah-born Wong would also be meeting with Senior International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali and Senior Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein before going to Kota Kinabalu tomorrow.
Before arriving in Malaysia, Wong was in Vietnam. After her appointment as the foreign minister early this month, she was in Indonesia with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
- Bernama

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