The world has seen some sad incidents regarding airplane crashes in 2014, and Malaysia, which was among the countries that faced these unfortunate incidents due to Malaysia Airlines' having two tragedies on March 8 and July 17, attracted a lot of attention. Amran Mohamed Zin, the Malaysian ambassador to Ankara, responded to questions from Daily Sabah about the current situation of Malaysia Airlines, rising Islamophobia in Europe and the state of affairs of Turkish-Malaysian relations, in particular at the financial level. Zin stressed that his country is doing well cooperating with Turkey regarding agreements signed in previous years and appreciated Turkey's collaboration with Malaysia in creating talent for Islamic finance.In 2014, Malaysia Airlines faced unfortunate tragic incidents. What is the latest on the investigations of these incidents?Indeed, 2014 was a very difficult and challenging year for Malaysia Airlines after encountering the twin tragedies of the disappearance of Flight MH370 on March 8 and the downing of Flight MH17 on July 17. Not only the airline, but also the whole of Malaysia and the world were shocked and greatly saddened by these tragedies. They were dark hours in the history of the aviation industry.One can imagine the desolation felt, particularly by the families and loved ones of those passengers and crewmembers on board the two ill-fated Boeing 777 flights. There were 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard MH370 and 283 passengers and 15 crew onboard MH17.Malaysia is very appreciative of assistance and support from other governments and even private institutions and individuals from around the world, including from Turkey, as we are persevering through these tragedies.The ongoing search efforts for MH370 will remain a priority.The search and rescue mission carried out from March 8 to April 28, 2014, covered areas in the South China Sea, the Straits of Malacca, the Andaman Sea and the southern Indian Ocean. It became an unprecedented exercise involving 160 assets, including 65 aircraft and 95 vessels, as well as experts from 25 countries. Other countries unable to send physical assets also provided invaluable support in other ways.From April 28, 2014, the search and rescue phase transitioned to a search and recovery phase. The search coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) moved to an underwater phase led by the Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). Malaysia and China sent their respective experts and assets to assist JACC and ATSB in this phase. This phase of the search included the use of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and bathymetric survey capabilities. The bathymetric survey was completed covering an area of around 208,000 square kilometers.The underwater search is still ongoing at this time, and the exercise is currently being performed by four vessels: Go Phoenix, Fugro Discovery, Fugro Equator and Fugro Supporter. As of January 28, 2015, the search has covered over 18,600 square kilometers.The governments of Malaysia, China and Australia have spared no expense or resource in the search for MH370. This has been done with the paramount aim of finding the aircraft and seeking answers. It has been done with the hope of bringing some solace to the families of the passengers and crew onboard MH370.In recent weeks, we witnessed the tragic Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. How did the Malaysian government and Malaysian community react to these terrorist attacks?As a matter of principle, Malaysia strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The government of Malaysia also strongly condemned the January 7 attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Malaysia holds the view that nothing justifies taking innocent lives. Malaysia has expressed solidarity with the families of the victims as well as with the government and people of France following the attack.Malaysia believes that the world must continue to promote moderation, cross-cultural understanding and respect in order to fight extremism. There are many moderates in the world. Extremists are few. We believe that moderates who are in fact in the majority around the world in every political system, culture or religion should come together to prevail over the few extremists who also exist in every political system, culture or religion. The prime minister of Malaysia called for the global movement of moderates at the United Nations in 2011 as a way to fight extremism. Malaysia will continue to work with others in advancing this moderation agenda, in promoting discipline, restraint, acceptance, freedom, tolerance, compassion, justice and peace.On the other hand, there is growing concern of Islamophobia rising in Europe. Do you have the same concern in Southeast Asia?Islamophobia exists to varying degrees in many parts of the world. It is indeed a very serious concern to the Muslim community around the world. It is also a serious concern and challenge to all people and communities, and even states wanting to practice and advance peaceful and harmonious co-existence, mutual respect, acceptance, freedom, tolerance, compassion, justice and peace.Going back to bilateral relations, although diplomatic relations began in 1964, the relationship between the two countries has historic roots. Could you tell us more about it please?Malaysia and Turkey officially established diplomatic relations in 1964. However, the relations can be traced back as early as the 15th century when there were already interactions between the Malay sultanates and the Ottoman Empire. There exist numerous historical accounts that prove this. Malay historical records have references to instances of interaction of the 15th century Malaccan Sultanate with Istanbul.From the 19th century onward, relations between the Malay sultanates and the Ottoman Empire remained intact, even bolstered. The records show that Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor (1833 to 1895) had close ties with Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842 to 1918). The former made several visits to Istanbul. There were even marriages recorded in 1890 between Sultan Abu Bakar and his brother, Engku Abdul Majid, with Ottoman women. Marital relations, trade, culture, arts, law and others show that the strong relationship between Malaysia and Turkey started a long time ago. The implementation of the Islamic civil law named Majalah Ahkam Johor in the 19th century is said to have been taken from Majallah al-Ahkam al-Adliyyah of the Ottoman government implemented in a colony of Turkey at that time.In the past year, the two the countries signed a declaration on the Framework for Strategic Cooperation in various fields and lifted visa requirements. How would you describe the current stage of the relationships?Last year Malaysia and Turkey marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. It was a landmark in Malaysia-Turkey relations – a half-century of official diplomatic relations. We consider it a new phase in the relationship when both sides renewed strong commitments to push forward mutually beneficial cooperation to a higher level.Indeed, Malaysia and Turkey signed the Joint Declaration on the Framework for Strategic Cooperation during the official visit by then prime minister and current president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to Malaysia on January 9-10. Subsequently on April 16-17, His Excellency Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak undertook his second official visit to Ankara when our two countries signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In addition to these two milestone agreements, a number of memorandums of understanding on education and business cooperation were also signed during those visits. We received very good news last evening that the Grand National Assembly of Turkey approved the FTA. Now both sides should follow up with concrete steps for early implementation of the agreement.Both sides have been working diligently to follow up on the leaders' commitments and decisions as well as explore new areas for closer and more tangible Malaysia-Turkey cooperation. Certainly both sides wish to see relations expand further in many fields. Our two countries have many comparative advantages and potentials that should be taken advantage of. If one is to draw an analogy to Malaysia-Turkey cooperation, the ground is very fertile, but it needs to be effectively and substantively cultivated so that both sides can mutually accrue more beneficial harvests. We have to keep up this very positive momentum.Malaysia's Islamic finance industry has been in existence for over 30 years, and the Malaysian model is now considered as one of the most advanced Islamic banking systems in the world. Is there any cooperation between Turkey and Malaysia in the scope of Islamic finance?Islamic finance is another important area in which Malaysia and Turkey can strengthen cooperation. Both countries are members of leading multilateral organizations for Islamic finance such as the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Developing-8 (D8) initiatives.The Central Bank of Malaysia and Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey have been taking cooperative steps to promote bilateral investment and liquidity arrangements, support development of the financial services sector, including Islamic finance, and enhance economic and financial linkages between the two countries.Similarly, the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions of Malaysia and Participation Banks Association of Turkey have been collaborating to promote the establishment, development, self-regulation and promotion of Islamic banking, capital and money market on a global scale.We are pleased that there is already strong collaboration between the two countries at both regulatory and industry levels, particularly in the area of knowledge enrichment and creation of talent for Islamic finance. Malaysia stands ready for further collaborative initiatives.Turkey and Malaysia are also members of the D8, which is group of eight developing Islamic countries. What are the areas of cooperation between the two countries in the framework of the D-8?In the D8 framework, Malaysia and Turkey together with the other D8 member countries are giving priority to industrial cooperation and small- and medium-sized enterprises, trade, agriculture, energy and transportation.Investments by Malaysian firms in Turkey have become more prominent throughout recent years. What are the main areas that Malaysian firms are interested in?From East Asian countries, Malaysia is now among the top-five investors in Turkey. There are a good number of Malaysian companies operating in Turkey. There is strong interest by the Malaysian business community and investors to venture into profitable areas. Some areas of interest include healthcare and health insurance service providers, motor vehicles, textiles, mining, logistics and construction.Likewise, Malaysia would also like to see more investments coming to Malaysia from Turkey. At the moment, there is rather an imbalance in terms of investment volume between the two countries.Malaysia has a lot to offer for foreign investments in such areas as high technology, capital intensive and knowledge driven industries, including biotechnology, advance electronics, optics and photonics, pharmaceuticals and information and communications technology; industries manufacturing intermediate goods, including machinery and equipment and auto-parts; resourced-based industries, including halal foods and beverages and business and professional services, including logistics, distributive trade, education and training, construction, health and tourism.