Turkey Can Contribute Significantly To ASEAN As Dialogue Partner

By Yasmin Ahmad Zukiman and Balqis Jamaludin KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Turkey is keen to become a dialogue partner of ASEAN, a grouping which the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described as an important organisation. He said Turkey could contribute significantly to the 10-member regional grouping and that the country had already elevated its relations to strategic levels with many ASEAN countries. "Now we have an embassy in each ASEAN member country, except Laos, which we will open soon," he told Bernama after a courtesy call on Prime Minister Najib Razak (picture) on the sidelines of the six-day 48th ASEAN Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings, which kicked off at the Putra World Trade Centre here on Aug 1. ASEAN currently has 10 dialogue partners, namely Canada, European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Australia, Japan, India, South Korea and New Zealand. Asked whether ASEAN countries were receptive to Turkey's bid to become the bloc's full dialogue partner, Cavusoglu said in principal, ASEAN members were supportive of Turkey's aspiration. "However, since there is a moratorium to join ASEAN, we have not been able to become a dialogue partner. Of course it is up to ASEAN to decide, but we hope ASEAN can consider our application," he said. Cavusoglu was referring to the moratorium on new dialogue partners admission up to the end of 2015. Elaborating on how Turkey could contribute to the grouping, he said that Turkey had been cooperating with many regional organisations on global issues, such as the fight against terrorism. Turkey and ASEAN could also cooperate in dealing with issues like the rise of Islamophobia and racial discrimination, he said. On the meeting with Najib, he said they discussed mostly bilateral and regional issues, as well as political and economic relations, which were improving. He said the meeting also touched on the Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA) sealed on Saturday. During the meeting Cavusoglu also conveyed Turkey's appreciation on Malaysia's role in solving the problems of ethnic Rohingya refugees peacefully. He also thanked Malaysia for the invitation to attend the AMM as a special guest. (photoBERNAMA) --BERNAMA