KUALA LUMPUR: The newly appointed British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ailsa Terry, highlighted traditional kuih, char kuey teow and roti canai as her favourite local delicacies while expressing her eagerness to explore a more comprehensive array of Malaysian cuisine.
"I haven't been to Melaka or the northern states yet. So that's next on my list. My team have been comprehensive, and they've really briefed me a lot on different kinds of Malaysian food," she said on Wednesday during the recording of Bernama-TV's The Nation programme at Wisma Bernama, which is aired on Friday.
The senior diplomat also paid a courtesy call to Bernama chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai.
Describing her first three months' posting in this country as a wonderful whirlwind, Terry said she has travelled to six states where her family received a warm welcome from the people of Malaysia.
"From a personal perspective, taking my children to try Malaysian food and snorkelling for the first time, they've seen this incredible biodiversity in Malaysia.
"They've been on rainforest hikes with me in Sabah and Sarawak, seeing the nature and the incredible different parts of Malaysia I've loved the most," she said, adding that she has travelled to six states and truly cherished Malaysia's diversity.
Noting that UK-Malaysia relations have a strong foundation to build on, Terry aims to establish a modern partnership with Malaysia focusing on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, the digital economy and cybersecurity.
She also looks forward to strengthening the UK-Malaysia partnership during Malaysia's ASEAN presidency in 2025.
"Because I think Malaysia is a leader in Asean on energy transition and green growth, and I really want to support Malaysia to be more well known for that and to grow its economy which benefits the UK," she added.
Terry said both countries are also poised to benefit from their first-ever Free Trade Agreement (FTA) after the UK formally signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) last July.
"For CPTPP, when you think about advanced manufacturing, automotive, and the most important one of all is confectionery, which means that tariffs will be removed on almost 100 per cent of UK chocolate coming into Malaysia," said Terry.– BERNAMA