TURKEY President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered prayers for the coalitions led by Anwar Ibrahim to win the six state elections, the prime minister said today.

Anwar, posting on his Facebook this morning, said Erdogan did so during a virtual meeting yesterday.

Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir was also present.

“Before we started the discussion, President Erdogan prayed for the success of the unity coalition in the elections in six states in Malaysia,” said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman.

Both PH and Barisan Nasional – allies at the federal level – face a tough challenge from Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the state polls.

At present, PH controls three states while the other three are in the hands of PN.

Anwar also said Erdogan had given commitment to visit Malaysia in the near future to further strengthen relations between the two countries.

“President Erdogan and I have agreed to meet in person at the United Nations general assembly in New York next month.

“The two of us also discussed investment cooperation between Malaysia and Turkey.

“I also reiterated Malaysia Airport Holding Bhd’s investment commitment of £200 million (RM1.16 billion) in Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport.

“For that, Batik Air has been selected as the operator for the KUL-ISG route. Batik Air flights are expected to begin in October,” he said.

Anwar added that they also discussed defence cooperation between the two countries.

“I am impressed with Turkey’s defence technology advancement and am confident Malaysia will benefit greatly as a result of the close cooperation between Malaysia and Turkey,” he said, adding that Malaysia would sign a memorandum of understanding in defence cooperation in the near future. – August 6, 2023.