Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop and an accompanying parliamentary delegation met with Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah on Wednesday.
Speaking at the meeting at the Istana Negara Royal Palace in Kuala Lumpur on his first visit to the country, Şentop said that he traveled to Malaysia upon the invitation of his Malaysian counterpart Azhar Azizan Harun, who visited Türkiye on June 13-15.
Expressing that he is pleased to see a common will to improve inter-parliamentary relations and cooperation between Türkiye and Malaysia, Şentop said, "Our bilateral relations continue to develop and deepen in every field with high-level and technical visits. We want to increase our bilateral trade volume in a balanced manner in the coming period."
On Tuesday, Şentop met with Azhar Azizan Harun and Rais Yatim, the heads of the lower and upper chambers of Malaysia's parliament, and praised bilateral relations between Türkiye and Malaysia.
The officials have an understanding of the comprehensive bilateral strategic partnership, which includes improving relations between the legislative, executive and judicial bodies, said Şentop, who also chaired delegation-level talks.
Dialogue and friendly relations between parliaments should be strengthened in parallel with the relations between governments, the Turkish official said, adding that Türkiye appreciates Malaysia's efforts to handle the economic and humanitarian crisis in the region, especially after the Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar.
"Their efforts to stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide attempt against the Rohingya in Myanmar and to provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingya are extremely valuable," Şentop said.
Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Malaysia were established in 1964.
The countries signed a free trade agreement in 2014, which was Türkiye's first with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In 2024, Malaysia and Türkiye will be celebrating their 60th year of diplomatic relations. Both are two modern and progressive states among the community of nations that have definitive cultures, values and geographical locations that epitomize a progressive Muslim country. Both countries have strong political linkages and economic exchanges with increasing people-to-people contacts.
This year is marked by many new developments. The official visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in July and the state visit by his majesty Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and her majesty Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah, the king and queen of Malaysia, to Türkiye in August are symbols of the ever-growing political, economic and cultural relations between Malaysia and Türkiye.
