PHILIPPINES, MALAYSIA STRENGTHEN BILATERAL RELATIONS

DURING the recent bilateral meeting in Malacañang between President Benigno S. Aquino III and Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohammad Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, an agreement was reached by the two leaders to further strengthen the already robust bilateral relations of the Philippines and Malaysia in the fields of tourism, education, culture, health, information technology, and labor.

The Philippines and Malaysia share the same Malay culture and heritage. Formal diplomatic relations have been nurtured through the years since a Philippine legation was established in Kuala Lumpur in 1959. The Philippine-Malaysia Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) was established in 1993 and was later renamed Joint Commission Meeting (JCM). In 2011, Malaysia was the Philippines’ 9th largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to US$3.7 billion; it was the Philippines’ 11th largest export market at US$1.098 billion and the 8th largest import market at US$2.635 billion. Malaysia is the Philippines’ 11th major tourist market, with 91,752 Malaysian tourists visiting the Philippines in 2011 while 362,101 Filipinos visited Malaysia in the same year. Malaysian investments in the Philippines have reached US$203.03 million in the last six years (2005-2010).

The Philippines and Malaysia are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and of the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area), a sub-regional grouping in the ASEAN, together with Indonesia and Brunei. The two countries have collaborated on a wide range of cooperative endeavors such as anti-piracy, border patrol and border crossing, and environmental protection. They have participated in joint conservation measures in the Sulu Sea. Both work closely with their ASEAN neighbors towards the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.

Malaysia has assisted in peacekeeping efforts in Mindanao. Accompanied by his wife Madam Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, the Malaysian Prime Minister was on an Official Visit on October 14-16, 2012, to witness the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as third-country facilitator. He congratulated President Aquino as he assured Malaysia’s support to the continuing peace negotiations and the implementation of the Framework Agreement. President Aquino thanked the Prime Minister for the support as facilitator in the peace talks since 2001 and Malaysia’s leadership of the International Monitoring Team since 2004.

We greet the government of the Republic of the Philippines headed by President Benigno S. Aquino III and the government of Malaysia headed by Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohammad Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak on their continuing efforts to further strengthen the bilateral relations of the Philippines and Malaysia. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!

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