KUALA LUMPUR, 5 SEPT – The military and defence industries cooperation between Malaysia and Turkiye is increasing every year.
Turkish defence attache Col Serhan Karabulut said that the cooperation further improved earlier this year following the devastating Richter-scale 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the south of his country (along with Syria, Cyprus and Lebanon) on Feb 6, reportedly claiming the lives of over 50,000 people.
Another 13.5 million were injured or displaced in 11 cities including Kahramanmaras, Adiyaman, Hatay, Gaziantep, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurf with Malaysia deploying Special Malaysia Search and Rescue Team (SMART) – comprising members from the Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Force – and field hospitals from the Malaysian Armed Forces’ Health Services Division.
Serhan appreciated Malaysia dispatching high-level government and military delegations to his country following the disaster, and the follow-on International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) 2023 in Istanbul on July 25-28.
Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who had announced a disaster assistance of over RM25 million from private entities, made an effort to personally call on Turkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in February, as he considered it the worst disaster in history after the tsunami that hit Aceh, northern Sumatra in Indonesia in December 2004.
Turkish defence attache Col Serhan Karabulut addressing guests at a reception to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the ‘Victory and Turkish Armed Forces Day 2023’ at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
Anwar was grateful to Turkiye for assisting Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, which manages the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, with large funds after it suffered huge losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic; and for assisting Malaysian companies that had invested over RM1.16 billion in Turkiye.
Malaysia’s trade volume with Turkiye was US$4.62 billion (RM21.04 billion) in 2022, a 12.6% increase, with a trade surplus of US$3.33 billion (RM15.17 billion) following Turkiye’s imports of palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products.
“I can state that friendly relations between Turkiye and Malaysia are at their most fruitful period in military and defence industry fields.
“In the coming period, we anticipate and exponential expansion of relations. We acknowledge the fact that more work needs to be done to ensure that this endeavour will be materialized successfully,” Serhan said at a reception to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the ‘Victory and Turkish Armed Forces Day 2023’ at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang.
Present were guest-of-honour Malaysian Armed Forces Health Services Division director-general Lt Gen Datuk Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh and Turkish ambassador Emir Salim Yüksel.
Serhan said that the event was observed on August 30 annually, to symbolize the bravery and resilience of the Turkish nation, as well as its firm resolve to uphold its independence and freedom to seal Anatolia as its homeland.
“Our fight for independence started under the leadership of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Samsun in 1919. It ended in a decisive and lasting victory with the battle led by commander-in-chief Ataturk himself.
“The legendary victory on August 30 proved to the entire world that it would by no means make any concession for its independence. It was not only the most glorious victory on the way to our national sovereignty but also one which paved the way for the foundation of an independent and democratic Republic of Turkiye on Oct 29, 1923.
“We remember with respect and profound gratitude these eternal guardians, our heroes, martyrs, comrade-in-arms, veterans and the leader of the war of Turkiye’s independence and founder Ataturk.
“Today, the Turkish Armed Forces has gained the all-weather capacity and cross-border operational capability through its national defence industry,” said Serhan.
(From left) Col Serhan Karabulut, Lt Gen Datuk Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh and Emir Salim Yüksel cut a cake to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the ‘Victory and Turkish Armed Forces Day 2023’ at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Erdogan in his congratulatory message spoke of the victory for the Turkish Cypriots in his country and the seven million citizens living across the world.
“The August 30 battle of the commander-in-chief is one of the most critical milestones in our nation’s centuries-long struggle for survival.
“In the words of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Great Victory is a great achievement that once again exemplified in history the enormous might and heroism of the Turkish Army, officers and command staff.
“With this victory, which is the “immortal monument of the Turkish Nation’s idea of freedom and independence”, our nation declared to the whole world that it would not let its will be subjugated and its independence and future compromised.
“The love of freedom, which is the most distinguished characteristic of our nation, still exists very strongly today.
“The epic resistance, first and foremost, against the July 15 betrayal and the response of our nation to the attacks on our survival in recent years have repeatedly demonstrated how our will remains alive and strong.
“The same unwavering will is behind our determination to build the Century of Türkiye, which we announced at a time when the world was shaken by deep crises,” Erdogan said.
He added that Turkiye created the infrastructure towards this end with the initiatives it brought to life in every field in the last 21 years, and provided his country with every capacity for this great ascent.
Following his resounding victory in May’s elections, Erdogan assured to make Türkiye more powerful and raise it above the level of contemporary civilisations with the new steps they would be taking in the upcoming period.
“We will definitely turn our vision of the Century of Türkiye into reality. And we will achieve this as 85 million people coming together hand in hand and heart to heart.
“As a nation that overcame many difficulties, endured many attacks and thwarted many conspiracies, we strongly believe that our future will be much brighter and more prosperous than today. May Allah remove the obstacles in our path and grant us success,” Erdogan said. – airtimes.my
