Kazakhstan and Malaysia: Comprehensive partnership – 30 years and beyond
The event, held in a hybrid format, was attended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Malaysia Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security of the Mazhilis (Lower House) of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Interparliamentary Friendship Group H.E. Aigul Kuspan, Members of Mazhilis Mr Baurzhan Sartbayev, Ms Zulfiya Suleimenova, Senator and Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports of Malaysia, Dato Sri Tee Lian Ker, the Kazakh MFA’s press service reports.
Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in the Malaysian state of Terengganu, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, business communities and the media also attended the round table.
The Track 2.0 Diplomacy was represented by the «Kingsley Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific» President Tan Sri Michael Yeoh. Chairman of the Halfmoon Bay Capital, Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah, also joined the event sharing his experience working with Kazakhstan.
Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun emphasized Kazakhstan’s achievements over 30 years of its independence. He elaborated on a close partnership of the two countries, both in bilateral and multilateral formats, including within the UN, OIC, WTO, etc. Tan Sri mentioned Kazakhstan’s invitation to Malaysia for its full membership at the CICA, where Malaysia is an observer state. The Speaker also added that Kazakhstan and Malaysia have prospects for cooperation in Islamic finance and the halal industry where Malaysia can share its expertise.
Chairperson A. Kuspan conveyed warmest greetings from the Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan H.E. Nurlan Nigmatulin and noted the Comprehensive Partnership between Kazakhstan and Malaysia reflects the spirit of friendship and brotherhood between our countries. «We welcome the growth of parliamentary diplomacy and establishment of the Parliamentary Group of Friendship in 2019 between Kazakhstan and Malaysia, which will give another boost to our close cooperation», she said.
Senator Dato Sri also noted the significant development of Kazakhstan over the years of Independence and proposed developing cooperation in youth policy and sports, including the «e-sports» between countries.
President of the «Kingsley Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific» Tan Sri Michael Yeoh and Director of the «Institute for Strategic Analysis & Policy Research» Johnny Yuen Chew Woon emphasized that over 30 years of Independence, Kazakhstan has strengthened its position in the international arena and makes a significant contribution to strengthening global and regional security.
The Malaysian businesses who have invested in Kazakhstan since the 90s told their remarkable stories and mentioned the conducive investment climate in Kazakhstan as well as new political and economic reforms aimed at further development of the country. The investment confidence in Kazakhstan helped attract almost USD 400 billion FDI's, they emphasized.
The event brought together the very close friends of Kazakhstan and was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Participants shared their experience and trips to Kazakhstan, as well as plans and ideas for the further long-term development of cooperation between Kazakhstan and Malaysia, those are celebrating the 30th Anniversary of their diplomatic relations next March. The next ties of the partnership include food security, the «Track 2.0 Diplomacy», people-to-people ties, culture, youth, sports and tourism, to name a few. The event participants discussed the promotion of the economic partnership through the Astana International Financial Center.