Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Ibrahim Kalın visited Malaysia on Monday.

The duo were welcomed by Malaysia’s Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin and later received by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim

Defense ties, among other fields of cooperation, have been growing between Ankara and Kuala Lumpur in recent years.

Most recently, Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase three Turkish corvette warships in June. The construction will start this year, and the ships will be delivered to the Malaysian Navy within three-and-a-half years.

Moreover, Turkish Aerospace Industries last year agreed to export unmanned aerial vehicle systems worth $100 million to the Malaysian Air Force.

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Malaysia were established in 1964. Both countries enjoy a broad-based and close partnership. On Jan. 10, 2014, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak declared the elevation of the bilateral relationship to the level of strategic partnership, which is the result of the progress achieved since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, as well as the depth of political, economic and cultural ties.

As members of the United Nations, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the D-8, Türkiye and Malaysia share a common perspective on a broad range of regional and global issues.

Malaysia also constitutes a significant country for Türkiye’s regional initiative, Asia Anew.