Alauddin Mohd. Nor

Malaysia enjoys excellent bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia, said Malaysian Embassy Minister Counselor Alauddin Mohd. Nor ahead of his country’s 57th independence day on Aug. 31.

“Both countries have cooperated in many areas of common interest under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement,” he said.

Nor, who is also deputy head of mission, added that Saudi Arabia has high respect for Malaysia and its leadership.

“The Kingdom and its leaders have always looked at Malaysia as a model Islamic country in terms of moderate policies, economic success and development,” he told Arab News in an interview.

He added that Saudi Arabia is one of several countries that sent representatives during Malaysia’s proclamation of independence on Aug. 31, 1957.

Malaysia and Saudi Arabia later established their embassies in Jeddah and Kuala Lumpur.

The Malaysian Embassy was relocated to the Saudi capital on Sept. 5, 1985 following Saudi Arabia’s decision to relocate its administrative capital from Jeddah to Riyadh in 1982.

The Malaysian diplomat added that bilateral ties between the two countries were further enhanced with the regular exchanges of visits between the leaders of the two countries. “The state visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to Malaysia on Jan. 30, 2006 was the first visit by a Saudi king in 36 years. The late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz also visited Malaysia in June 1970,” he said.

He noted that the visit in 1970 was reciprocated by two state-level visits from Malaysia. Prime Minister Abdul Razak, the father of the current premier, visited in 1975 and Prime Minister Hussein Onn in 1976.

He added that the current Malaysian prime minister most recently visited Saudi Arabia in 2012 and 2013.

Nor said that Saudi Arabia was Malaysia’s second largest trading partner in the Middle East in 2013. Total trade last year amounted to Ringgit Malaysia RM9.6 billion, a decrease of 1.7 percent from RM11.341 the previous year.

 
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