PUTRAJAYA, March 16 — Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir met his counterparts Ali Sabry of Sri Lanka and Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives during his three-day working visit to London in conjunction with the Commonwealth Day celebrations which ended on Wednesday.
Zambry in a statement today said in his meeting with Ali, that both of them were on the same page in efforts to continue improving the good relations between the two countries that have been established for a long time.
Both ministers believe that there are still many opportunities and room for improvement especially in terms of investment.
“According to him (Ali), Malaysia is a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications sector in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Zambry said there are many other areas of new investment that can be jointly explored in Sri Lanka such as port development, the hospitality industry and petroleum refining industry.
He added that the matter will continue to be fine-tuned through the Bilateral Negotiation mechanism between Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
In a meeting with the Maldivian Foreign Minister, Zambry said they discussed various matters, especially efforts to improve connectivity to strengthen relations and boost interaction between the people of Malaysia and the Maldives.
“I have also expressed Malaysia’s willingness to cooperate with the Maldives in the field of tourism and culture,” he said.
The two ministers also exchanged views on various global and regional issues of mutual interest and agreed that Malaysia and the Maldives should continue to work closely together to maintain peace and stability in the region.
“This year, Malaysia and the Maldives are celebrating the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. “Since 1968, our bilateral relations with the Maldives have been strengthened on the basis of common cultural and religious values,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zambry also took the opportunity to hold a meeting with Malaysians in London and discuss various domestic issues and Malaysian foreign affairs.
“As it turned out, even though they are far from home, the feeling of patriotism and love for the country never fades no matter where they are. They keep giving various ideas and suggestions for working together in a joint effort to develop the country,” he said.
Zambry said their proposals will be presented to the Cabinet to be discussed.
Zambry led the Malaysian delegation to three important Commonwealth events in London, namely the Commonwealth Day Celebration, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) Meeting and the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM).
