The 65th anniversary of Malaysia's Independence Day was celebrated with a reception held in Ankara on Monday.

The reception was hosted by the Malaysian Ambassador to Ankara, Sazali Mustafa Kamal, and attended by the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as well as many local and foreign guests.

Reminding that Malaysia gained its independence from Britain on Aug. 31, 1957, Sazali said, "This is the date when Malaysians, regardless of Malay, Indian or Chinese, established their own nation by joining hands."

Stating that Malaysia has formed a strong economy and national identity since then, Sazali said, "Malaysia's diplomatic relations with Türkiye were established in 1964. Since then, the relations between the two Muslim countries have developed and matured. With the last visit of our Prime Minister to Türkiye. Our relations have further developed and reached the level of strategic partnership." said.

Referring to the Malaysian King and Queen's visit to Türkiye in August, Sazali said: "Long before these two visits, we established cooperation in many fields. Our people also benefited from the development of these relations. Malaysian students can take their place in the Turkish education system. Our cooperation in such areas can be further strengthened. We must work together to improve our intercollegiate research collaboration."

The 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries will be celebrated next year. "I am sure we will celebrate more anniversaries with the continued efforts of both countries," Sazali said.

‘Our relations have reached highest level'

Afterward, the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar spoke at the reception. "Türkiye and Malaysia are two strategically important countries located on the western and eastern flanks of Asia. In this respect, we are determined to further strengthen the cooperation between our countries to contribute to global peace and stability," he said.

Explaining that the friendly relations between the two countries reached the level of strategic partnership in 2014, which further strengthened the relations, Minister Akar said, "During the visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to our country, our current strategic partnership was upgraded to the level of 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,' which further increased the importance of our relations. It is a first in terms of our relations with Southeast Asian countries." 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).

Stating that the relations between the two countries have improved further with the visit of Malaysia's King Al Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al Mustafa Billah Shah to Türkiye, Minister Akar said, "Our relations have reached the highest level with the will of President Erdoğan and the King of Malaysia."

In addition, Akar emphasized that they are ready for advanced cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries in order to advance the strategic partnership.

The minister said that both countries must continue working together on issues that concern all humanity at international and regional platforms such as the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. "As a result, we will continue to do whatever is necessary to maximize the relations between Türkiye and Malaysia, and we will continue our efforts towards this."

To improve ties with Asian countries in different areas, Türkiye in 2019 launched the Asia Anew initiative. The initiative offers a new vision that might shape the future of Turkish foreign policy as a whole. It aims to improve ties with Asian countries in various areas, including education, the defense industry, investments, trade, technology, culture and political dialogue.

Türkiye considers ASEAN as a key organization in the region, considering its combined economy, dynamic population and strategic location. Türkiye applied to become a sectoral dialogue partner to ASEAN in 2015 and its application was accepted on Aug. 5, 2017, during the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting held in the Philippines.