KUALA LUMPUR: The United Kingdom (UK) hopes to further enhance existing ties with Malaysia .
British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay said the longstanding UK and Malaysia relationship was a strong foundation for both nations to build on.
“Bilateral trade between the UK and Malaysia has increased 10 per cent to RM27.34 billion (£5 billion) and we look forward to increase this even more.
“The UK will continue to support Malaysia in its reform agenda through the sharing of British expertise and experience.
“On the defence front, we remain committed to the Five Powers Defence Arrangement (FPDA) which the UK and Malaysia are part of,” he said in a statement here today.
Hay’s remarks comes following the UK General Election on Dec 12, which saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson forming a new government.
Johnson’s Conservative party romped to a landslide victory by garnering 364 seats in the 650 strong House of Commons, the biggest majority since the heyday of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
Following the electoral victory, the UK Government is pursuing a new partnership with the European Union post Brexit.
Johnson had said the UK remains globally engaged on important issues such as tackling climate change, global security, building academic and scientific cooperation and strengthening trading relationships.
Hay said that with both the UK and Malaysia sharing a common goal in tackling climate change and plastic waste, both nation’s have a unique opportunity to work together to address these global problems, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) which the UK will co-host with Italy in 2020.
“The warm UK-Malaysia relationship is evident in the two-way engagement at the highest level. Just last week, HM The Agong (The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah) visited the UK and met HM Queen Elizabeth II. Prime Minister Tun Mahathir (Mohamad) also made working visits to the UK twice this year. Meanwhile, HRH Prince Edward The Earl of Wessex; Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt; Peter Estlin, Lord Mayor of the City of London; as well as Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury were among high level visitors who visited Malaysia in the last 12 months.”
Hays also said that the people-to-people relationship was also reflected in the 19,000 Malaysian students currently studying in the UK and another 80,000 individuals studying for a UK qualification in Malaysia.
He added that an estimated 18,500 British nationals were living in Malaysia and approximately 360,000 British tourists visited Malaysia in 2018.