ISTANBUL, Oct 23 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Istanbul for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have been short, but was very productive nonetheless.
The key message conveyed by Anwar at the meeting with the Turkish president was that the humanitarian issue and the fate of Palestinians in Gaza deeply touched the hearts of Malaysians and what Malaysia, Turkiye, and the rest of the world could do to help resolve the conflict.
Malaysia is Turkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean, with trade totalling US$4.7 billion (RM21.1 billion) in 2022, a 35 per cent increase from 2021.
Ties between Malaysia and Turkiye are very close, as evident from the several rounds of discussions held between Anwar and Erdogan this year.
In his working visit of less than 24 hours to Istanbul, the Prime Minister met Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Turkish National Intelligence Organisation director Ibrahim Kalin before meeting Erdogan.
At every meeting, especially the discussion with Erdogan, which lasted about two hours, Anwar highlighted several issues, including the atrocities committed by Israel and the humanitarian issue, which is increasingly marginalised in Gaza. He also touched on bilateral relations as well as economic and trade cooperation.
After Turkiye, he left for Egypt for another two-day working visit.
In a statement, Wisma Putra said the two working visits reflected Malaysia’s undivided commitment to tackling the Palestinian issue, especially in efforts to ease the Palestinian people’s sufferings due to the Gaza Strip crisis.
In a sign of Malaysia’s unwavering championing of Palestinian rights, Anwar, during a press conference at the end of his Turkiye visit, expressed his regret over several Western countries which were seen to be closing their eyes to the humanitarian issue in the tumultuous region.
In his view, Turkiye had stepped forth to champion the humanitarian issue in Gaza by sending plenty of medical aid to the conflict area despite facing difficulties in reaching remote areas.
Before arriving in Turkiye, Anwar, in his speech at the inaugural Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh, had also spoken about the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.
GCC is a political and economic pact formed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
As soon as he set foot in Egypt, the Prime Minister, speaking at a gathering with the Malaysian diaspora and students in the country that ‘the attacks on Gaza must stop immediately’.
— Bernama
