Source: Prime Minister of Australia
THE HON ANWAR IBRAHIM, PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA: We are really encountering post normal times. We discussed this. Developments are unanticipated and continue to haunt us because we are not able to fairly and squarely craft an agenda forward, because many of these issues are quite unresolved. Disruptions to production and supply chains. So, the world certainly looks different today, Prime Minister, than it did when you were here in Kuala Lumpur last October. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for nearly seven weeks. Global energy markets are under severe stress. Supply chains are disrupted and the consequences are pummelling through the seven seas. This is of course the backdrop of our meeting today.
I’m of course extremely grateful that the exchange has been very frank, cordial as great friends, not only to the bilateral relationship, but based on trust. And that was what I said, and I want to repeat this publicly. Malaysia will always be a reliable partner to Australia. We will be mates – I don’t know why you use that term – through thick and thin as we have always been. Our discussions today cover trade, investment and agriculture. But given the state of the world today, I want to start with energy. Malaysia and Australia share strong interdependence in energy resources, including fuel and LNG. We have existing agreements and today we reaffirmed our commitment to them. We also signed a Joint Statement on Energy Security reflecting our commitment to stable and resilient energy supplies.
We also witnessed the signing of the MoU between Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development, or JAKIM, and Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. This will enhance market access for both countries. We also agreed to deepen cooperation in agriculture, including sharing expertise in production and irrigation to ensure sustainable food supply for both Malaysians and Australians. Let no one mistake the weight of what we signed today. When supply chains are disrupted and food prices are increasing and rising, agreements like this have a direct impact on people’s lives. The distance between a signed agreement and a family’s dinner table is shorter than most people imagine.
I also wish to touch on Palestine. There is a ceasefire in Gaza, but let us be honest about what that has meant so far. The killings have not stopped, the hunger has not ceased in the West Bank. Settlements continue to expand and violence continues to escalate with utter impunity the world must not avert its gaze and allow a ceasefire to become the silence of the grave. What the Palestinian people need is a just and lasting solution. And that means a viable sovereign state. Malaysia will not waver on this matter of principle and conscience. I appreciate Australia’s stance on Gaza, calling for an end to hostilities, supporting humanitarian assistance and working towards a lasting resolution. That position matters, and Malaysia welcomes that.
Prime Minister Albanese, thank you again for making this journey to Kuala Lumpur. These conversations matter and I’m glad we are having them. I look forward to continuing the work when we meet in Australia next year, I’m sure before that, but the Australian meeting will be the fourth Annual Leaders’ Meeting. Until then, let us make good on what we have promised today. Thank you.
< ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA
Australian resources help to power our region, and our farmers help to feed the region. Nearly 60 per cent of Malaysia’s wheat and 75 per cent of its lamb and beef come from Australia. And our neighbours know that providing fuel and fertiliser to Australia helps put food on the table in this region. We rely on each other for fuels, including crude petroleum and natural gas. And Malaysian urea helps Australia grow crops like wheat that we supply here, contributing to Malaysia’s food security. As comprehensive strategic partners, we’re working together to prepare and shield our citizens from the worst of the impacts of this global conflict.
And today I am pleased that we’ve agreed a Joint Statement on Energy Security. This underscores our commitment to ensuring that essential goods, both food and energy, continue to flow between our two countries. And I’m pleased that our Energy Ministers have agreed to continue working together to coordinate our response to this global crisis and ensure a continued trade in energy. We have also agreed a partnership on red meat processing and trade. This agreement will support bilateral halal meat trade, boosting Australian red meat exports and supporting Malaysia’s food security, whilst boosting jobs on Australian farms and in processing facilities. We also discussed how to deepen our trade and economic relationship, including through Invested, which is Australia’s Southeast Asia economic strategy to 2040. This includes Monash University’s investment into a new campus that I was delighted to launch at the end of last year.
Prime Minister Anwar and I also discussed developments in our region and around the world. The nations in our region know that Australia is not one of those friends that only rings up when they want something. We engage constructively in good times and in hard times. And the Indo Pacific is not a place that we visit. It’s our home. A diverse and dynamic region with ASEAN central to its strength and its success. I thank Prime Minister for your warmth and hospitality and your friendship for the discussions that we have regularly on the phone as well as these face-to-face meetings. And I look forward to meeting with you on the sidelines at the ASEAN East Asia Summit in the Philippines in months ahead. I know that the relationship between Australia and Malaysia will continue to strengthen in the years ahead and that we will continue working together as partners and friends during this time of global uncertainty. Thank you.
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With regard to fuel as well, I can announce that my Government has secured an additional 100 million litres of diesel from two shipments, one from Brunei, where I was yesterday, and one from South Korea. This is the first of many expected shipments secured under the Government’s new strategic reserve powers with the support of Export Finance Australia. That is very important. The purchase of more than 570,000 barrels of additional diesel has been done by Viva, made possible because of the decision that my Government made early in this global crisis to empower Export Finance Australia. To do that, additional fuel can be directed to where it is needed most, including to our farmers. And one of the discussions we had today was very much about diesel. That’s so important at a time where many farmers are looking at planting and they will only do that with the confidence that they’ll be able to harvest as well. So, this is welcome news. It’s a practical outcome of the engagement and the interventions that my Government has had to deal with the consequences of a crisis right across the other side of the world, but one that is impacting here in our region and in Australia in particular.
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