Erdogan meets Malaysian king in Ankara for talks

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah with an official ceremony at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

The leaders held one-on-one talks followed by an official dinner in honour of the king on Tuesday.

Later on Tuesday, Erdogan awarded the Malaysian king with Order of the State of Republic of Türkiye — the highest state order awarded to foreign nationals — and the king gave Erdogan the Order of Chivalry.

This is the “first visit from Malaysia to Türkiye at the Head of State level after nearly 30 years and will crown our bilateral relations,” the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

“High-level talks with Malaysia have gained momentum within the context of our relations, which get stronger and stronger in almost every area on the basis of friendship, mutual trust and the interests of our respective peoples,” the statement read.

READ MORE: Türkiye determined to further deepen ties with Malaysia

Türkiye-Malaysia ties

Diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Malaysia were established in 1964.

The countries signed a free trade agreement in 2014, which was Türkiye’s first with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Malaysian king and Queen Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will be in Türkiye until August 21.

Meanwhile, First Lady Emine Erdogan expressed her pleasure to host the king and queen in Türkiye.

"I had the opportunity to introduce our Presidential National Library and the rare works in our archive to Queen Iskandariah," Erdogan said on Twitter.

She added that Türkiye included the Gastronomy Book of Queen, which consists of the local dishes of Malaysia, in the Malaysia section of the presidential library.

READ MORE: Cavusoglu: Türkiye, Malaysia can help solve regional, global issues