PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will continue playing a vital role on the international stage as demonstrated through the successful organisation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit 2020, as well as strengthening its foreign relations in efforts to fight Covid-19 and revive the country’s economy.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said among others, the government would continue its comprehensive efforts to create a travel bubble with potential countries to facilitate the country’s economic recovery efforts.
He said the initiative was vital to reactivate bilateral trade cooperation and investments and thus, expedite economic growth.
“In this context, Malaysia has concluded the agreement on the establishment of the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) with Singapore in 2020.
“Malaysia will continue establishing the RGL with other countries such as China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Vietnam,” he said in his One-Year Malaysia Prihatin Keynote Address today.
Muhyiddin said at the regional level, the Asean Declaration on the Asean Travel Corridor Arrangement (TCA) was adopted by Asean leaders during the 37th Asean Summit in November 2020.
The initiative will help facilitate intra-Asean travel, and in turn be able to reactivate the intra-Asean trade, tourism and related services that have been affected by Covid-19, he said.
The prime minister said apart from the Asean Comprehensive Recovery Framework agreed upon during the 37th Asean Summit, the government had also strived to ensure that Malaysia will always have access to vaccines, including the new generation vaccines while seeking to expand the global recognition of digital health certificates or Malaysian vaccine passport and provide assistance and facilitate the return of stranded Malaysians overseas.
In his keynote address, Muhyiddin also expressed his appreciation to the foreign envoys to Malaysia for their help and cooperation.
“Malaysia highly appreciates the bilateral and multilateral support rendered, including in delivering protective and medical equipment such as face masks and ventilators, as well as the exchange of expertise in managing the Covid-19 crisis,” he said.
The prime minister said the foreign missions played an important role in disseminating accurate information to the foreign communities in the country, including on matters pertaining to health examinations, business operations and border control.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said the government would also ensure Malaysia’s role in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to remain strong especially in fighting for the rights of the Palestinians.
“Malaysia will continue to support all efforts to achieve a fair and lasting solution, especially through negotiations involving the concerned parties based on international law as well as the relevant resolutions of the United Nations (UN),” he added. – Bernama
