“Independence Day of Malaysia, 31st August 2014”
Assalamulaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
On behalf of the Government and the people of Malaysia, I would like to extend my warmest greetings and best wishes to the people and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on this auspicious occasion of the 57th Independence Day of Malaysia. I would also like to take this opportunity to convey my sincere felicitations to all Malaysian citizens currently residing in Bangladesh.
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia also known as the Father of Malaysia spearheaded the effort to gain independence from the colonial rule in 1957. Since then, Malaysia celebrates its national day by remembering this historic event which attributes immense significance to the establishment of the country. Each year, a theme will be chosen to mark this special event and for the year 2014, “Malaysia Where Love Grows” theme has been chosen to demonstrate the hearts of all Malaysians who love their country. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 8 and the downing of MAS Flight MH17 on July 17 somehow have dictated the mood of the National Day celebrations this year but the historical day for Malaysia must not be forgotten. As such, the National Day which will be celebrated in Malaysia this year will be toned down but it will rather demonstrate the unifying force of Malaysians to face this difficult moment. Malaysia is grateful and overwhelmed by the support extended by the Government of Bangladesh who joined several other countries around the world in the Search and Rescue efforts to locate the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and for the words of sympathy to the victims and families of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. This has been a true reflection of close the friendship between our two countries that have been built on mutual respect and commitment over the years.
On the regional front, Malaysia will take over as Chair of ASEAN in 2015 with the task of leading the preparation for another big picture of ASEAN’s direction post-2015. As Chairman of ASEAN in 2015, Malaysia hopes to deliver on two major areas. The first is the formal establishment of the ASEAN Community by 31st December 2015 while the second area is the formulation of a successor document to the current Roadmap for an ASEAN Community, which will chart ASEAN’s common destiny for the next decade and into the future. Malaysia has also set its priority areas which among others include the creation of a truly ‘People-Centred ASEAN’ as the central element and overarching theme of Malaysia’s chairmanship in 2015; commitment to strengthening ASEAN institutions through increased financial and manpower resources as well as a more effective evaluation and monitoring system and deepening of ASEAN’s engagement with external parties to address issues of common concern. With a huge task in front of us, surely Malaysia will not be able to do it alone. Malaysia counts on the support of ASEAN Member Countries including other friendly countries to ensure Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN will be a success.
I would also like to take the opportunity to highlight the excellent bilateral relations between Malaysia and Bangladesh. The overall bilateral relations between Malaysia and Bangladesh have continued to be close and friendly where relations are driven mainly by trade and investment engagement from the private sectors of the two countries. Ever since the establishment of our diplomatic relations in 1972, the relations between the two friendly countries have grown in depth and diversity and reached a matured stage. As Malaysia progress, we have also emphasis on sharing our knowledge and expertise with our partners, especially those from the emerging world, in which Malaysia’s relationship with Bangladesh reflects this.
Being co-members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Commonwealth, D-8 and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and as strong proponents of the multilateralism, Malaysia and Bangladesh also share common views on major Regional and International issues and also work closely to promote peace, stability, and development in the international arena.
Bangladesh has set for itself an ambitious poverty reduction goal and has been making impressive economic progress over the last few years. On this fact, Malaysia deeply appreciates the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the country’s development through the ventures of Malaysian companies in various sectors in Bangladesh. These have been reflected during the bilateral talks between H.E. Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia and H.E. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in November 2013 where both leaders reiterated their commitment to working together towards enhancing cooperation and strengthening the relations of our two countries.
The bilateral trade and investment between Malaysia and Bangladesh continue to expand over the years. Trade between Malaysia and Bangladesh recorded at US$1.57 billion towards the end of 2013. Bangladesh exports to Malaysia grew by 18% to USD82.74 million, mainly in textiles and clothing, agriculture goods and processed food. The cumulative amount of investment stood at approximately USD 394.56 billion. Among the South Asian countries, Bangladesh was Malaysia’s 3rd largest trading partner, 3rd largest export destination and 4th largest source of import.
Malaysia wishes for more efforts from Bangladesh entrepreneurs to venture into Malaysian market. The initiatives such as trade exhibition should become a turning point to harness more collaborative efforts from the private sector and concerned government agencies to promote trade and investment from Bangladesh into Malaysia as well as from Malaysia into Bangladesh.
On that note, I pray to Allah Almighty for the continued peace, progress and prosperity of our two friendly countries. May the bond of friendship between our two countries and the people will continue to be strengthened in the years ahead.
Thank you.
High Commissioner of Malaysia
31st August 2014
