Malaysia, Canada to boost ties to fight terror

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Canada will strengthen defence and military strategies to address Islamic State militants globally.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said even though IS-related issues in the country were the concern of the Home Ministry, the Defence Ministry played a vital role in preparing against terror-linked attacks and militant activities.

The militant threat, he said, was not an isolated issue affecting a single nation but a wider, international issue, that involved various regions.

“Malaysia is honoured to have Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, and I must say it has been a comprehensive and fruitful meeting for both nations’ defence leaders, as we share many similarities in facing geopolitical and regional challenges and this new threat (of militancy),” he said yesterday.

“We had a good discussion on geopolitical matters of this region, how to strengthen cooperation in military-related strategies and how Canada could be more involved with Malaysia, in general,” he said after an hourlong closed-door meeting with Harjit at the Defence Ministry yesterday.

Hishammuddin said Malaysia looked forward to establishing stronger link-ups with Canada in defence, particularly in addressing the threat of IS and other militant groups.

“This includes joint training programmes and finding solutions through international collaboration to the threat (of terrorism) faced by the world today,” he said, adding that more details would be forthcoming.

He said he and Harjit had discussed military and security issues and bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest.

Harjit is on a three-day official visit to Malaysia to discuss, exchange views and boost diplomatic ties between Canada and Malaysia.

The visit was the first between the defence ministers of both