Poland in Malaysia

On 3 September 2024, Minister Radosław Sikorski paid a one-day visit to Malaysia as a part of his tour of Southeast Asia. The head of Polish diplomacy met with Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan.

The talks on Polish-Malaysian bilateral relations and international security, including in Ukraine and the Middle East, were held in a very friendly atmosphere.

Bilateral issues were an important topic on the agenda, which covered, inter alia, broader access of Polish agri-food products to the Malaysian market, cooperation in the field of defence, as well as enhancing cooperation in trade, higher education and tourism.

The prospects for cooperation within the framework of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Malaysian Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will run simultaneously in the first half of 2025, were also discussed. The Malaysian side expressed support for Poland’s accession to the “Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia”, as well as the hope that Poland would play an important role in strengthening the strategic partnership between the European Union and ASEAN.

The head of Polish diplomacy also presented Poland’s position on Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine and the global consequences of further escalation of this conflict.

Before the bilateral meetings, Minister Sikorski gave an interview to the Malaysian television station Astro Awani, speaking about the importance of Poland’s and the European Union’s relations with the countries of Southeast Asia, which is playing an increasingly important role on the global scale, geopolitically and economically. He also presented the Polish perspective on the war in Ukraine and the upcoming presidential elections in the United States of America.

It was the first visit of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs to Malaysia since 2002. It was preceded by high-level political consultations held in Warsaw in June this year, the for first time since 2010, between the representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Malaysia.

Minister Sikorski’s trip, both to Malaysia and other countries in Southeast Asia, was related to the growing potential of the region, both in the context of bilateral cooperation and Poland’s relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The meetings with the highest authorities of the visited countries were a part of a broader agenda of strengthening bilateral relations, especially in the area of security and economy.