Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu hosted his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah in the capital Ankara Wednesday.

They discussed the "excellent" bilateral ties between the two countries, Turkey's top diplomat said on Twitter.

"Cooperation in the field of defense industry will give a new impetus to our economic relations with one of our best commercial partners in the region," said Çavuşoğlu, lauding Malaysia as a strategic partner in Southeast Asia. Saifuddin is currently in Turkey as part of a delegation of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. He will hold bilateral talks with Turkish officials. Last year, Turkey's envoy to Malaysia Merve Kavakçı said Malaysia is a passage to Asia and India. She added that Turkey could help Malaysia take a more active role in Africa. Kavakçı said Malaysia's exports to Turkey total around $3 million, while Turkey's exports to Malaysia total around $300 million. "We want to bring Turkish industries and Malaysian industries together, not in a way for one side to dominate the other, but to collaborate, to join hands in technology transfer, in building together and in putting heads together," Kavakçı said.