M'sia ready to buy military equipment from Turkiye, says Anwar

NEW YORK: Malaysia has expressed its willingness to buy military equipment from Turkiye, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar said prior to this, some of Malaysia’s military equipment had been purchased from South Korea, adding that the choice of suitable purchases from Turkiye will be decided by the Malaysian Armed Forces Council.

"We could be looking at drones and helicopters, according to Turkiye’s area of specialisation. However, I will leave it to the Armed Forces on what is best,” the Prime Minister said after a bilateral meeting with Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Turkish House here on Thursday (Sept 21).

Anwar is currently in New York to attend the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Prime Minister said it was now left to the Defence Ministry to hold negotiations with the Finance Ministry and the Turkish government on the military equipment purchases.

"My policy as I told the joint chief of staff is we don’t want any interference on what to procure, what to acquire,” he said.

At the same time, Anwar said Erdogan has also agreed to visit Malaysia in December. - Bernama