M’sia, Japan Foreign Ministers discuss soft credit facility
PUTRAJAYA: The rejuvenation of the ‘Look East' Policy and consideration of soft credit assistance were discussed at the Malaysia-Japan ministerial level here yesterday.
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, in their meeting at Wisma Putra here, followed up on the proposals and decisions made during the meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on June 12 in Tokyo.
Wisma Putra said Kono and Saifuddin discussed matters related to the rejuvenation and further enhancement of the Look East Policy which would benefit both countries, especially in the areas of education and human resource development.
They also discussed matters related to optimising the utilisation of railway lines where Japan and Malaysia have agreed to look into ways to increase the efficiency of Malaysia's existing railway lines; consideration of soft credit assistance as well as maritime cooperation, where Japan has assisted through the contribution of two patrol vessels and assistance in human capacity development, it said.
“Both ministers were pleased with the current state of bilateral relations and agreed to continue strengthening and fostering greater cooperation in many areas,” Wisma Putra said in a statement in conjunction with the courtesy call.
Kono, who is on a two-day working visit to Malaysia beginning yesterday, was the first foreign minister to call on Saifuddin since his appointment as the foreign minister last week.