Malaysia and Turkey aim to sign a Free Trade Agreement in April, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today.
"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that we sign the FTA in April. He kindly invited me to visit Turkey once again so that the agreement can be signed during that visit," he told a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting at the Perdana Putra building here today.
Najib also said Malaysia and Turkey have also agreed to abolish visa requirements between the two countries.
Erdogan is on a two-day working visit to Malaysia from yesterday. The visit is significant as it marks the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-Turkey diplomatic relations established in 1964.
To underscore the confidence in the Turkish economy and Erdogan's leadership, Najib said Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the government's investment arm, had already invested $1.5 billion in Turkey.
"The investment includes $1.1 billion in the Turkish healthcare industry. We will also provide whatever assistance to facilitate the increase of investments from Turkey into Malaysia," he said.
He said Khazanah, through Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), would invest another $300 million to increase its share equity to 60% in the 2nd Turkey International Airport project in Istanbul.
"In our discussions this morning, Erdogan suggested to increase total bilateral trade to US$1.5 billion to $5 billion," he said.