Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL VISIT
TO TURKMENISTAN
Tarikh/Date : 04/10/94
Tajuk/Title : THE STATE BANQUET HOSTED BY HIS
EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT
SAPARMURAD NIYAZOV
My wife and I are greatly honoured by your kind invitation
to visit Turkmenistan. We are indeed delighted to be here.
The friendliness and cordiality that we have witnessed
convince us that our visit to your country will be memorable
and fruitful. We look forward to seeing and learning more
of your beautiful country in the next few days.
2. A few months ago in June, we had the privilege and
honour of receiving you in Malaysia. You will recall that
we had fruitful discussions and the opportunity to exchange
views on wide-ranging issues of common interest, in
particular on ways and means of bringing our two countries
closer. Generally we were in agreement that there is a
great potential to expand the scope and depth of our
relations.
3. My visit to your country provides me with the
opportunity to reaffirm Malaysia's commitment to cooperate
with Turkmenistan and to strengthen our bilateral relations.
I am confident that over the next few days, we shall
together be able to identify more clearly the many
opportunities for trade and investment between our two
countries.
4. I have brought along with me a number of prominent
Malaysian businessmen and investors who will have the
opportunity to familiarise themselves with local conditions
as well as meet and discuss with their Turkmen colleagues on
possible areas of cooperation and common endeavour for
mutual benefit. I believe significant opportunities exist
for such cooperation in the petrochemical industry,
infrastructure development and tourism. As a substantial
trading nation, Malaysia will also do what we can to
facilitate trade and to ensure business cooperation with
Turkmenistan.
5. Recently in August, a team of Malaysian officials
visited Ashgabat and met with your officials to identify
aspects of economic planning and development, where
Malaysia's experience might be of interest and relevance to
Turkmenistan. We are indeed happy to be able to share our
experience with you and we look forward to continued
interaction, in particular, under Malaysia's Technical
Cooperation Programme.
6. I note with interest that many countries in this region
are undergoing positive economic transformation. This is
encouraging, particularly in this present era when economic
capacity, to a great extent, influences the general conduct
of international relations. Developing countries should
cooperate and strengthen ties with one another to develop
their respective economic capacities. Sustained economic
prosperity will enable us to become respected members of the
international community.
7. The key to prosperity for all nations lies in their
capacity to cope with global integration. The challenge to
the world as a whole in this age, is to prove ourselves
capable of integrating all countries, big and small, fully
into global economic processes. Today, there is rapid
integration of the global economy through overlapping
regionalisation processes. The Asia- Pacific region, to
which Malaysia and the nations of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) belong, is in the fore-front
of this inexorable process. We look forward to our region
interacting steadily with the region of Central Asia, as
indeed with all the regions of the world. Bilateral
relations between Malaysia and Turkmenistan will, in this
regard, pave the way for greater cooperation between our
respective regions.
8. May I once again on behalf of my wife and members of
the Malaysian delegation, as well as myself, express our
sincere appreciation and gratitude for your generous
hospitality and for receiving us with such warmth and
friendship. The ties that we are forging through your
recent visit to Malaysia and through my visit to
Turkmenistan on this ocasion, will constitute the firm
foundation for what I believe will be substantial relations
and cooperation between our two countries and peoples.
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