Japan-Malaysia Summit Meeting (Summary)

On December 16, commencing at 11:30 a.m. for approximately 25 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, held a Japan-Malaysia Summit Meeting with Y.A.B. Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, who is visiting Japan to participate in the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, which was followed by a signing ceremony for the exchange of notes and a ceremony for the exchange of documents signed between the two countries. The overview of the summit meeting and ceremony is as follows.

The summit meeting and ceremony was also attended on the Japanese side by Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. SAITO Ken, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr. MURAI Hideki, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, among others; and on the Malaysian side by Dato' Seri Utama Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Tengku Zafrul bin Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, among others.

After the summit meeting, the two leaders issued a Japan-Malaysia Joint Statement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
 
1. Summit Meeting
(1) Introduction
Prime Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude for Prime Minister Anwar’s visit to Japan and the warm welcome he received during his visit to Malaysia in November, and welcomed the Joint Statement that elevates the Japan-Malaysia relationship to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”. Prime Minister Kishida also stated that, as the world is at a historical turning point, Japan places great importance on promoting cooperation with ASEAN, including Malaysia, to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law and to ensure a world where human dignity is protected. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his hope that the Commemorative Summit would become an opportunity to pass on to the next generation the "trust" which Japan and ASEAN have been built thus far, and to further strengthen the relationship between Japan and ASEAN. In response, Prime Minister Anwar expressed his appreciation for Japan's welcome on his visit to Japan and his hope to work with Prime Minister Kishida to further develop Japan-Malaysia relations under a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.”
 
(2) Bilateral Relations
Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the provision of equipment for warning and surveillance activities through the Official Security Assistance (OSA) and the launching of the Strategic Dialogue between foreign and defense authorities.
Prime Minister Kishida expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation on energy transition and decarbonization including through the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Leaders Meeting, and to promote concrete cooperation in the areas of development cooperation through JICA, cyber, information and communications, economic security including supply chain resilience, economic partnership, and people-to-people exchange. Prime Minister Anwar expressed his desire to further promote cooperation with Japan in these areas.
 
(3) Regional and international challenges
The two leaders also exchanged views on various regional and international issues, and confirmed that they would continue to work together.
 
2. Signing and Exchange of Notes Ceremony
After the summit meeting, in the presence of the two leaders, signing and exchange ceremonies took place for the following documents in relation to bilateral cooperation respectively:
 
(1) Signing Ceremony: Exchanged Notes for Official Security Assistance grant aid from Japan to Malaysia for equipment for activities such as monitoring and surveillance
(2) Exchange Ceremony: Memorandum of Cooperation on Space Development and Application between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Malaysian Space Agency