Malaysia, Turkiye To Strengthen Defence Cooperation - Mohamed Khaled

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Turkey are ready to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of defence involving military assets and training in the future, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin today.

According to him, the defence cooperation between the two countries needs to be raised to a higher level involving agreements in various military fields.

"It is important for us to have cooperation, to organise various programmes and efforts that can be shared in order to strengthen the defence of our respective countries. In this context, we are trying to hold and prepare an agreement to be signed by both countries to enable this wish to be achieved," he said.

He told a press conference after receiving a courtesy call from a Turkiye Defence Ministry delegation led by its Minister, Yasar Guler, here.

The Defence Minister of Turkey is leading a 17-member delegation as a return visit to Mohamed Khaled's first official visit to Ankara, Turkiye on June 11.

In the meeting that lasted more than an hour, the two leaders discussed various defence cooperation, besides confirming their commitment to military cooperation covering the fields of science, technology and defence industry.

Both countries, according to him, will explore new opportunities to cooperate in matters involving the interoperability and readiness of the two armed forces in all 'domains', namely land, sea, air, cyber, Al (artificial intelligence) and intelligence sharing.

Mohamed Khaled said with deeper cooperation, Malaysia will understand about Turkiye's assets, training and experience, considering that the country is one of the largest producers of military assets in the world.

It will allow the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) to know and learn anything about any military equipment produced by the country, said the Defence Minister.

From a defence point of view, he said, Malaysia and Turkiye are not just a buyer and a seller but want the relations to be promoted as 'partners' (friends), which explains Ankara's willingness to share various aspects related to the field of defence.

In addition, he said, the Minister of Defence of Turkey has also submitted an application for the country to be accepted as a dialogue partner at the ASEAN level.

Also present at the meeting were Deputy Minister of Defence, Adly Zahari, Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman, Army chief General Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan and Air Force chief General Tan Sri Mohd Asghar Khan Goriman Khan.

-- BERNAMA