The Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Malaysia Andrijana Vasic met today with the Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Malaysia Khairul Tazril Tarmizi to discuss cooperation in the fields of economy, sports and culture.
At the very beginning of the meeting, Vasic welcomed the Charge d’Affaires, informing him that the PFG with Malaysia boasts nine members and that the MPs are very interested in joining the Group which is a clear indicator of the parliamentarians’ wish to advance cooperation between the two countries.
Vasic stressed that, though since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1967 to date, the overall cooperation has exhibited considerable growth, there is always room to further strengthen relations, adding that this is an excellent time to expand the bilateral relations and cooperation between Serbia and Malaysia. “Our two countries, though very distant and at first glance very different, actually share many similarities. Serbia, just like Malaysia, is the economic leader in its region, both countries are characterised by a vast tourist offer and the citizens of both countries love sports”, said the Head of the PFG with Malaysia. She suggested the possible twinning of Leskovac, the town the MPs is from, with a town in Malaysia, such as Ipoh, of a town in the Penang region which is considered something of a gastronomic paradise, adding that Leskovac is recognised as the home of the best grill in the world.
Tarmizi congratulated the MP on being appointed the Head of the PFG with Malaysia, stressing that he is sure the bilateral relations would continue to develop. The Charge d’Affaires said that the 2022 trade worth 130 million EUR is a clear indicator of the expansion of economic cooperation. He added that youth and sports could be two areas with vast cooperation potentials, bearing in mind Serbia’s remarkable results in group sports and Malaysia being good at individual sports. He said he believed the promotion of the Malaysian sport of “sepak takraw” in Serbia could be a conduit to bringing the two peoples closer together, as well as the popularisation of badminton to which Malaysia has given world champions.
The officials also discussed cultural cooperation, organisation of gastronomic and dance festivals, as well as the underutilised free student programmes offered by both countries.
Vasic went on to highlight the importance of the Serbia-Malaysia Friendship Club. “I am well aware of the Club’s activities and I applaud the fact that you are personally involved in their realisation. I consider this very important because the Club, with the help of “Adligat” which keeps the biggest collection of books and artefacts from Malaysia in South-East Europe, could be the key to familiarisation and rapprochement of our two peoples and with it to the strengthening of cooperation between our two countries”, stressed Vasic.
Finally, Vasic suggested organising a meeting between the members of the PFG with Malaysia and the Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Malaysia where the rest of the PFG could share their ideas how to advance relations between the two countries.
