MALAYSIA’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah will host the inaugural official visit of Turkiye’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu starting today.

The two-day visit serves as a follow-up to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri’s official visit to Turkiye last month, as well as a lead-up preparation for the state visit by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to Turkiye.

Saifuddin and Cavusoglu will hold a bilateral meeting to chart a way forward on many issues of mutual interest ever since the relations between Malaysia and Turkiye were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

“Apart from strengthening the current cooperation, both countries would explore new potential areas of collaboration such as food security, Islamic digital banking, e-commerce, defence, petroleum and gas, and renewable energy,” Wisma Putra said in a statement today.

The two foreign ministers will also exchange views on the various regional and international developments of interest during the bilateral discussion, it added.

During the visit, Cavusoglu is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister and attend a separate meeting with the Senior Minister of Defence Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, the statement read.

Turkiye is Malaysia’s third largest trading partner and the largest export destination among West Asian countries.

Malaysia-Turkiye trade volume in 2021 was worth more than US$4.09 billion (RM16.97 billion). – Bernama, August 3, 2022.