Kazakhstan Sees Malaysia As Gateway To ASEAN, Eyes Dialogue With Central Asia

By Noor Bakhtiar Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Kazakhstan regards Malaysia as its gateway to Southeast Asia and the wider ASEAN region, and to further bolster cooperation, the Central Asian republic is proposing the establishment of a future ASEAN-Central Asia dialogue platform.

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Bulat Sugurbayev, said Malaysia’s current role as ASEAN Chair 2025 further strengthened its position as a priority partner for Kazakhstan in its outreach plans to the region.

“Malaysia has been our gateway since 1993, when we first established diplomatic relations.

"Our first embassy set-up to reach out to other countries in Southeast Asia was located in Kuala Lumpur, and it covered all ASEAN countries in the region. This reflects how important Malaysia is as a gateway to ASEAN,” he said.

He said this during Bernama TV’s The Nation programme titled ‘Diplomacy In Action: Malaysia & Kazakhstan’, which was aired on Tuesday.

Sugurbayev added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to Kazakhstan last year had set “a new momentum, a new sort of pace towards building bilateral ties, particularly in trade and investment”.

“This year, Malaysia, being the chairman of ASEAN 2025, we believe it is very important for us to continue bringing forth this message to Kazakhstan as well as from Kazakhstan to Malaysia,” he said.

On ASEAN’s wider role, he noted that the grouping, which began as an economic instrument, had evolved into a stabilising force in the region.

“ASEAN has been doing a great job, and Kazakhstan has been looking at ASEAN and its experience. We want to develop the same mechanism in Central Asia. And we wish ASEAN all the best,” he said.

The ambassador also praised Malaysia’s leadership in ASEAN, citing Kuala Lumpur’s mediation role in the Cambodia-Thailand conflict as an example of the grouping’s effectiveness in promoting peace and stability.

“One of the best examples, and kudos to the Malaysian government and the Honourable Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in resolving the Cambodia-Thailand conflict. It was done very promptly and very effectively,” he said.

Sugurbayev expressed hope that Malaysia’s position as ASEAN Chair could pave the way for closer region-to-region engagement between ASEAN and Central Asia in the future.

“I hope that ASEAN and Central Asia will develop some sort of a dialogue platform, not only on a bilateral, but also on a regional basis, where important issues and other potentials can be discussed and implemented,” he said.

-- BERNAMA