Malaysia Will Continue Contibuting To Bangsamoro Capacity Building

From Bernama (Aug 14): Malaysia Will Continue Contibuting To Bangsamoro Capacity Building

Malaysia will continue to contribute to the Bangsamoro capacity building programme towards the establishment of its political entity.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement, today said Malaysia also gave assurance on the continuation of its committment as facilitator to the peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Malaysia has stressed on the importance of both countries to continue strengthening their long standing cooperation," said the statement.

It was among matters raised during the courtesy call by the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Perfecto Yasay on Foreign Minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman yesterday.

This was the first meeting between the two ministers since Yasay was appointed to his current post.

However the Wisma Putra statement did not specify where the meeting was held.

Also joining in the meeting was the Foreign Ministry's Bilateral Relations deputy secretary general, Datuk Muhammad Shahrul Ikram Yaakob and the ministry's senior officials while Yasay was accompanied by the Philippines' Ambassador to Malaysia, J.Eduardo Malaya and senior officials of that country.

During the meeting, Malaysia emphasised on the importance of working closely with Indonesia and the Philippines in enhancing cooperation and coordination among the three countries to improve maritime security in the waters, particularly to curb incidents of abduction.

The statement said the three countries should also take action towards finalising the relevant standard operating procedure (SOP) under the Framework for Indonesia-Malaysia-The Philippines Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement in the Maritime Areas of Common Concern signed on July 14, 2016.

Malaysia also outlined the need for both countries to cooperate closely within the ASEAN solidarity spirit and as neighbours in addressing issues such as cross border crimes, radicalisation and terrorism as well as the South China Sea.

The Philippines expressed its thanks to Malaysia for its continual commitment and support in the southern Philippines peace process.

At the same time, the Philippines said they were in the midst of dealing with security issues in the south of the country, especially pertaining to abduction and terrorism and would continue to cooperate with Malaysia to combat these threats.

On the issue of the Philippines' claim over Sabah, Malaysia reiterated its stand that Sabah was part of this country, added the statement.
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