PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be conferred the Order of the Republic, Turkey’s highest award for foreign leaders, during his three-day official visit, which began today.
Malaysian ambassador to Turkey Sazali Mustafa Kamal said the award would be presented by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tomorrow, Bernama reported.
“This award is the highest form of recognition bestowed on a leader who has brought Malaysia and Turkey closer and strengthened bilateral ties with Turkey,” he was quoted as saying at a press conference ahead of Anwar’s arrival.
Sazali said Anwar would also co-chair the inaugural Malaysia-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting with Erdogan, where both sides would discuss strategic cooperation across various sectors.
During the visit, Anwar will hold a closed-door meeting with Erdogan at the presidential complex and chair a roundtable with about 40 Turkish companies to explore new opportunities for economic and trade cooperation.
He is also scheduled to deliver a public lecture titled “Power Shift: Strategic Choices for Malaysia and Turkey” to professionals, academics, senior officials and students.
On economic ties, Sazali noted that bilateral trade between Malaysia and Turkey reached US$5.2 billion in 2024, and the target is to increase it to US$10 billion.
Anwar is accompanied by his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, foreign minister Mohamad Hasan, higher education minister Zambry Abd Kadir, investment, trade and industry minister Johari Abdul Ghani, and senior government officials.
