Malaysia: Malaysia and Turkiye have strengthened defence cooperation through their first Malaysia-Turkiye Policy Talk, held at Turkiye's Ministry of National Defence (MoND) headquarters in Ankara on Monday. Malaysia's Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said the meeting was chaired by MoND director-general of defence and security, Lt Gen Ilkay Altindag, while MINDEF deputy secretary-general of policy Datuk Yani Daud led the Malaysian delegation.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the meeting focused on defence policy and strategy, geopolitical security issues, the sharing of perspectives and information, and strengthening defence cooperation networks. Both sides also discussed the importance of maintaining regional peace and stability. Malaysia expressed its appreciation for Turkiye's important role in maintaining peace in West Asia through the recent signing of the Makkah Pact, MINDEF said in a statement today.

During the meeting, both sides agreed to establish Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Policy Talk, providing a mechanism to discuss cooperation instruments and potential future defence programmes. As a follow-up, Malaysia formally invited Turkiye to attend the second Policy Talk, to be held in Kuala Lumpur next year.

The ministry said the Kuala Lumpur meeting was expected to further strengthen the strategic partnership and friendship between Malaysia and Turkiye, in line with priorities outlined in the Mid-Term Review of the Defence White Paper.