Japan-Malaysia Relations
Japan-Malaysia Summit Meeting
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
(Photo: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)
On May 23, commencing at 2:10 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a Japan-Malaysia Summit Meeting with H.E. Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. Introduction
Prime Minister Kishida welcomed Prime Minister Anwar's visit to Japan, which is the second time in half a year, and stated the relations between the two nations have made steady progress through elevating the relations to the “Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership” at the end of last year. Prime Minister Kishida also stated that Japan would like to further strengthen coordination with Malaysia to lead the international community in the direction of cooperation rather than division and confrontation, and to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law. In response, Prime Minister Anwar stated that Malaysia would like to further develop bilateral relations under the “Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership.”
2. Bilateral Relations
Prime Minister Kishida referred to the decision to provide equipment for monitoring and surveillance activities to the Malaysian Armed Forces through the Official Security Assistance (OSA), and welcomed the realization of the joint exercises between the Self-Defence Forces and the Malaysian Armed Forces. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his desire to further strengthen cooperation in the area of maritime law enforcement. Prime Minister Kishida also stated that Japan would like to promote cooperation in areas such as energy transition and decarbonization, critical mineral resources including rare earths, digital and cyber security, economic security such as supply chain resilience, and human resources development.
In response, Prime Minister Anwar expressed his gratitude for the OSA and various capacity-building assistance, and stated that Malaysia would like to further promote cooperation with Japan in a wide range of areas including these.
3. Responding to regional and international challenges
The two leaders also exchanged views on the situation in the East and South China Seas, the Israel-Palestine situation, the Ukraine situation and the response to North Korea, including the nuclear and missile issues and the abduction issue, and confirmed that the two countries would continue to work together to address the issues.