Canberra-KL ties boosted by Australian PM's historic visit to Malaysia
By Taufik Ishak,WNS Malaysia Correspondent
KUALA LUMPUR - Kuala Lumpur-Canberra relations received a strong boost with the historic visit of Australian leader John Howard, the first Prime Minister from the country to visit Malaysia in a decade. While the leaders agreed on the importance of furthering economic ties, they declined to hasten negotiations on a free trade deal. Both sides also agreed on the need to quickly restore peace in Iraq. Mr Howard's visit to Malaysia follows the ground-breaking trip Down Under by his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Badawi last April. Mr Abdullah, who took office three years ago, had been the first Malaysian Prime Minister to visit Canberra in more than two decades. Analysts say the normalisation of the bilateral relations that had been rocky in the past under his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad is an added feather in Mr Abdullah's cap.
The question now is how far can he build on improved bilateral ties? In an hour-long news conference, the 67-year-old Australian leader said cracks that plagued bilateral relations in the past have now healed. Mr Howard said: "I think it's fair to say our bilateral relationship is now as strong as it'd ever been. We have shared interests in the region." Both countries are working towards inking a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as early as the middle of next year, although no specific time-frame was stated. Malaysia currently is Australia's second largest trading partner in South East Asia. Apart from trade and investment, the Middle East situation also dominated talks between the two prime ministers. The leaders agreed that there is an urgent need to restore peace and stability in war-torn Iraq, but they differed on the strategy.
Mr Howard believes international troops have a role to play, while Mr Abdullah wants a pull-out of all foreign soldiers. Mr Abdullah said: "We are all together addressing towards achieving stability in Iraq which can also pave the way out for foreign forces to leave Iraq and let the Iraqis deal with the situation and reconstruct Iraq." Mr Howard said: "It's right and fair to say our perspectives not the same but we are good enough friends and old enough friends to respect that and accept that we both recognise the importance of achieving stability in Iraq." While in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Howard also spoke at a lunch hosted by the Malaysia-Australia Business Council. He also gave out scholarships to Malaysian students. Educational ties between the two countries are strong. Australia is the top destination for Malaysians studying abroad, and more than 250,000 graduates have completed their studies there.
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