KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and his New Zealand counterpart Gerry Brownlee met today to discuss efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The meeting, which lasted about 45 minutes at Parliament House here, also touched on Malaysia’s upcoming role as ASEAN chair.
According to Johari, other topics discussed included renewable energy, food security and innovation to ensure that initiatives by both countries could benefit the entire ASEAN region.
“We have a lot we can accomplish together, particularly given New Zealand’s expertise in agriculture. We also talked about education, as we have been sending students there since the 1960s, and they have also been sending their students here.
“So, we need to strengthen this relationship to ensure its continuity,” he told reporters after the meeting.
Johari said he also had the opportunity to express gratitude to the New Zealand representative for their military contributions during Malaysia’s emergency period between 1948 and 1967.
“Twenty of their soldiers died here during the emergency. Thus, in my capacity as Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament and on behalf of the Malaysian people, I thank the Speaker of New Zealand,” he said.
Earlier, Brownlee and his delegation were taken to observe the Dewan Rakyat sitting and visit the Senate hall before attending the meeting with Johari.
Brownlee was elected Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives in December 2023.
In the last term of Parliament, Brownlee was the National Party’s spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, GCSB, NZSIS and Emergency Management, and at the end of 2023, took on the additional roles of spokesperson for Defence and Veterans’ Affairs.
