Malaysia Bilateral Linkages

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Oscar Arribas

4:44am Wednesday 17 March

Malaysia Bilateral Linkages

Malaysia is important to New Zealand for strategic, political and economic reasons. It is one of the Southeast Asian countries best known to New Zealanders. There is a history of close and friendly links, stemming originally from Commonwealth ties, the Colombo Plan and shared security concerns. New Zealand deployed troops in the country during the "Malayan Emergency" (1948-1960), and during the "Confrontation" period in the 1960s. These early connections have been built on and enhanced. The relationship is friendly, has many aspects, and is significant to New Zealand. In late 2009 Malaysia will assume the ASEAN dialogue coordinator role for New Zealand.

Visits

High-level visits from and to Malaysia, have cemented the bilateral relationship between New Zealand and Malaysia.

To Malaysia

Rt Hon Helen Clark (then Prime Minister) visited Malaysia in July 2007.
Former Minister for Trade Negotiations Hon Jim Sutton visited Malaysia in June 2003.
Former Minister for Defence Hon Mark Burton, attended a Five Power Defence Arrangement Ministerial meeting in Malaysia also in June 2003.
Former Conservation Minister Hon Chris Carter visited Malaysia in February 2004, for the UN COP7 Biodiversity meeting.
Then Education Minister Hon Trevor Mallard visited Malaysia in May 2004.
The then Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Jonathan Hunt, visited Malaysia in early 2004 and again for the Sarawak New Zealand Alumni Conference in July 2004.
The then Governor General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, undertook a State Visit to Malaysia in September 2004.
Former Prime Minister Rt Hon Helen Clark and then Foreign Minister Hon Winston Peters visited Malaysia in December 2005 to take part in the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS).
Former Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters visited again in July 2006 for the ASEAN PMC and ARF meetings.
Former Trade Minister Hon Phil Goff visited Malaysia in August 2006 for the ASEAN-CER Economic Ministers meetings.
Former Minister of Forestry Hon Jim Anderton visited Kuala Lumpur in June 2008 to discuss forestry issues with his counterpart, Datuk Peter Chin, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities.
Rt Hon Jenny Shipley (then Prime Minister) visited Malaysia in November 1998 for the APEC Leaders’ Meeting.

To New Zealand

His Excellency Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, Crown Prince of the State of Perak, visited New Zealand to deliver Victoria University's annual Halim Saad lecture in October 2008.
Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visited New Zealand in March/April 2005, accompanied by the Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Tan Sri Muhyiddin and the Minister of Plantation and Industry Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui.
A delegation was led by the Minister of Plantation and Industry to look at forestry initiatives in New Zealand in 2005.
Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin visited New Zealand in April 2007.
Rural and Regional Development Minister Syamsuddin visited in November 2007.
The former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir, visited New Zealand in 1996.