Malaysia, South Korea Sign MoU to Strengthen Defence Cooperation

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Bernama) -- The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Malaysia and South Korea on Wednesday will be a legal instrument in further strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries, says Senior Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein. He said the MoU signed with South Korean National Defence Minister Suh Wook would be the main reference document in interactions, programmes and joint activities between the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. “This bilateral meeting is very meaningful and brings important benefits to both countries, especially in the context of defence diplomacy. "Efforts towards realising this MoU have been implemented for the past three years and finally, it was signed today," he told reporters after attending a virtual bilateral meeting with Suh Wook and signing the MoU between Malaysia and South Korea in a hybrid manner here Wednesday. Hishammuddin said to ensure that the planning under the MoU could be implemented well and run smoothly, a Working Committee between the defence ministries of both countries would be established. Apart from that, he said both countries were working towards an MoU on the defence industry which was also closely related to the National Defence and Security Industry Policy which was being drafted by the Ministry of Defence. Hishammuddin said Malaysia had previously cooperated with several countries such as Italy, France and the United States and was now working to further expand cooperation with more countries such as Turkey, India and South Korea. On the meeting with Suh Wook, Hishammuddin said he took the opportunity to discuss multilateral cooperation, especially with regards to the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting and security threats in the cyber security domain. "I also express confidence that with the support of the South Korea, the Ministry of Defence's initiative on the ASEAN Cyber ​​Defence Network can be implemented more effectively," he said. -- BERNAMA