NEW YORK, Sept 21 — Turkiye has agreed that Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) will continue to operate the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (ISG) International Airport.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed the agreement to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during their bilateral meeting yesterday.
“He (Erdogan) agreed that MAHB should continue operating ISG as they are satisfied with the success of the company in the first stage and now they want to extend (operations), including building a longer runway,” Anwar said at a press conference after meeting with the Turkiye leader.
Anwar, who is in New York to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly, said Turkiye strongly believes MAHB is best suited and capable of running ISG operations.
Although the agreement to continue operations by MAHB has been announced, Anwar said it will go through the normal process by the relevant ministry.
“This tremendous support is also a vote of confidence in the Malaysian company to develop and manage ISG,” he added.
Fully owned by MAHB, the airport is the sixth busiest gateway in Europe, with passenger numbers reaching 25 million in 2021, which is 70 per cent of the pre-pandemic level.
At the meeting, which was also attended by Cabinet ministers from both parties, Anwar said they also discussed efforts to increase bilateral cooperation in terms of investment and trade.
Malaysia is Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean with a trade volume of US$4.7 billion (US$1=RM4.51) in 2022, a 35 per cent growth from 2021.
Malaysia’s total export volume to Turkiye in 2022 reached RM17.39 billion, which is largely comprised of palm oil, palm oil-based agricultural products, metal manufacturing, textiles, clothing, footwear, electrical and electronic products and palm oil-based manufactured products.
Total imports in 2022 stood at RM2.86 billion, which includes petroleum products, jewellery, iron and steel products, chemicals and chemical products, textiles, clothing and footwear.
— Bernama
