Malaysia and Australia enhance cooperation with Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
27 Jan 2021
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Australian counterpart Scott John Morrison today officiated the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) at their first meeting which was held via video conference.
The Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement, said that at the meeting, the two Prime Ministers approved the Action Plan outlining strong initiatives under three key elements of the CSP.
These elements are Economic Wellbeing; Society and Technology; and Regional Defence and Security Cooperation.
“This partnership reflects the high level of commitment of both sides to further expand existing strong ties in various aspects of bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation.
“Apart from strengthening existing cooperation, this CSP also gives an opportunity for Malaysia and Australia to establish collaboration in various new fields, including digital economy; agriculture and food security; disaster management and public health; mental health; science, technology and innovation (STI); environment; and youth empowerment,” the statement said.
On Covid-19, the two leaders agreed that Malaysia and Australia take several effective measures to combat the pandemic and reduce its negative impact.
Among the proposals were to forge cooperation in Covid-19 vaccination programmes, ensure markets remain open and the global supply chain can function well to support economic recovery efforts and livelihoods, and cooperation in cross-border management.
“The announcement of the CSP between Malaysia and Australia today is timely, in line with continued efforts by both countries in facing the increasingly complex and difficult regional and global situations.
“This CSP enables the two countries to explore a new cooperation landscape and move further ahead. Malaysia and Australia are close partners. The two countries had established ties even before Malaysia achieved independence,” it added.
Australia established its High Commission in Kuala Lumpur in 1955 while the then Malaya set up the Federation of Malaya Commission in Canberra in 1956.
In 2015, Putrajaya and Canberra upgraded bilateral relationship to the Strategic Partnership Level.
The two countries also cooperate on various regional and international platforms, including the ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Cooperation, East Asia Summit, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Pacific Islands Forum, Commonwealth and the United Nations.
Source: Bernama
