By UN Journal Lee Jon-young
President Yoon Suk-yeol and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held a summit at the Yongsan presidential office on Nov. 25 and agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, defense and defense, and energy.
Both sides agreed to finalize a free trade agreement (FTA) next year. The two countries have established a strategic partnership ahead of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.
Malaysia is Korea's third-largest trading partner and fourth-largest investment destination in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Signing an FTA with Malaysia is expected to increase bilateral trade and investment. While South Korea has an FTA with ASEAN, it has separate FTAs with other major trading partners such as Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
South Korea and Malaysia began FTA negotiations in 2019, but the talks were suspended due to political and economic reasons in Malaysia and resumed in March this year. In 2019, they discussed only goods, but this time, they decided to negotiate services, investment, digital, bio, and green sectors.
The two leaders also decided to strengthen defense cooperation. “Following the export of the Korean light attack aircraft (FA-50) last year, I would like to request Prime Minister Anwar's interest and support for the continuation of our company's participation in the Malaysian defense business,” Yoon said.
“I look forward to our two countries working closely together in the areas of defense and joint training,” Anwar said in response.
The following is the excerpts of the joint statement on the establishment of a strategic partnership between Korea and Malaysia. –Ed.
On the occasion of the Official Visit by His Excellency Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia to the Republic of Korea from 24 to 26 November 2024, His Excellency Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and His Excellency Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia had a bilateral meeting on 25 November 2024.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1960, the ROK and Malaysia have worked together to build close ties of cooperation in a wide range of areas, including politics, security, trade and investment, environment, energy, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
In November 2019, the Prime Minister of Malaysia undertook an Official Visit to the ROK, and the Leaders of the two countries took stock of the significant progress made in the bilateral relations and agreed to elevate the status of ROK-Malaysia relations to a Strategic Partnership.
During their bilateral meeting on 25 November 2024, President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim formally announced the elevation of the bilateral relations between the ROK and Malaysia to a Strategic Partnership, signifying the commitment of both countries to expanding cooperation to new horizons so as to promote freedom, peace, and prosperity and to addressing the pressing challenges moving forward.
Under this Strategic Partnership, President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim reaffirmed their determination to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Both sides agreed to increase high-level exchanges and regular contacts at all levels to strengthen the relations between the ministries, agencies, and parliaments of the ROK and Malaysia. Noting the resumption of the Malaysia-ROK Bilateral Consultation on 26 June 2024 in Putrajaya, Malaysia, both sides decided to boost strategic cooperation through active policy consultations and to hold more bilateral meetings on issues of mutual interest on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.
Recognizing that cooperation in the defence industry is a symbol of mutual trust in a robust Strategic Partnership, both sides agreed to continue to explore ways to work together for research and development (R&D), military technology cooperation, and the defence industry.
Both sides acknowledged the importance of conducting regular exchanges between their military and defence establishments, and agreed to further strengthen defence cooperation based on the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Defence, which was signed by the two countries in April 2022.
Both sides affirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation on non-traditional security issues, such as in response to drug trafficking and cybersecurity. In this context, the two sides welcomed the recent cooperation programs aimed at dealing with drug trafficking and cybercrime, including cryptocurrency heist.
