President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to double Türkiye’s trade volume with Malaysia and expand cooperation with its biggest Southeast Asian partner.
“We have decided to increase the trade volume, which we previously set at $5 billion (TL 180.27 billion), to $10 billion,” Erdoğan said during a news conference held after his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. “We aim for a sustainable and balanced trade volume,” he added.
“This is a commitment,” Anwar said, referring to the trade goal. “There is no reason why we cannot realize this and develop our economies. When we look at the economies of Türkiye and Malaysia, there is actually no reason not to increase mutual trade.”
Erdoğan arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Monday for his first visit to Türkiye’s largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region since 2019. He is on a four-day, three-nation tour that also covers Indonesia and Pakistan.
Malaysia is a member of D-8, formed in 1997 in Istanbul. The international body also includes Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria. It is also the 2025 chair of the ASEAN, whose summits have been participated in by Türkiye since 2013.
The two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2014, the first between an ASEAN member country and Türkiye.
“We are in consensus to increase the mobility and diversity in trade and investment areas with a win-win approach,” Erdoğan said, noting that Türkiye and Malaysia would establish a high-level strategic cooperation council to advance their comprehensive strategic partnership.
For his part, Anwar emphasized that the two countries are determined to reach the highest level of cooperation.
He stated that they also discussed semiconductors, electrical electronics, food and defense sectors. “Our defense ministers also agreed to increase cooperation. It was also agreed on mutual technology exchange in the defense ecosystem,” he added.
Malaysia maintains close links with Türkiye, particularly in the defense industry and aerospace, and is interested in maritime defense products produced by Turkish companies.
One of Türkiye’s biggest defense companies, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), has set up an office in Malaysia that provides employment for more than 100 Malaysian engineers.
Last year, another leading Turkish defense company, STM, signed a deal to supply three corvette warships to Malaysia.
The ships will be delivered to the Malaysian Navy within three-and-a-half years and will have a length of nearly 100 meters (329 feet), a displacement of 2,500 tons, a maximum speed of 26 knots, a helicopter landing platform and capacity for more than 100 personnel.
Erdoğan emphasized the urgency of completing a new terminal that will increase the number of flights from Türkiye’s second biggest airport, Sabiha Gökçen, which is operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
“By swiftly completing the terminal, we want Sabiha Gökçen to create a different platform with a greater number of flights, similar to Istanbul Airport,” he said.
The construction of the new terminal, which was announced to begin in December, has not yet commenced. The airport’s second runway was completed and inaugurated in 2023.
The infrastructural upgrade is expected to double the capacity at Sabiha Gökçen, whose passenger count reached a record of nearly 41.5 million in 2024, up from 37.1 million in 2023.
Anwar called Türkiye a “shining star” both at the European and global levels in terms of airport management and aviation. “Türkiye sets an example in both airport management and aviation,” he said.
Erdoğan’s visit saw the signing of 11 agreements between Türkiye and Malaysia.
“We also thoroughly discussed our industrial, technological, energy, tourism and cultural relations,” Erdoğan commented.
“We confirmed our common will to encourage initiatives in the field of tourism. We welcome Malaysia’s increasing interest in our country and want to host more of our brothers and sisters in Türkiye.”
He underscored that they would continue the momentum the two nations have achieved in the field of defense industry in projects that envisage technology transfer and joint production.
Erdoğan also gifted Anwar a Togg T10X, an SUV developed by Türkiye’s first domestic electric vehicle manufacturer.
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