Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and ministers and colleagues, thank you very much. I've said this earlier that Prime Minister Albanese has been a good friend. You've been very supportive of our ventures and my meetings with him have been very fruitful, very candid, very open and both of us have really committed to enhance bilateral relations in terms of serious trade, investment ventures and this decision of Monash University to operate from TRX City the prestigious area is something very impressive. It signifies a clear commitment on the part of Australia to take Malaysia very seriously and now with the bank and the port facility and I commend him for this commitment and support.
He promised to come again early next year, and both of us will visit the university. And as a good politician, he honours his promise. I have no doubt about that. That's why he won comfortably in the last elections. Convincingly.
The issues that we have to, and the Director General of the Department of Islamic Development and Department of Culture, Forestry here, on Halal operations and we do import little bit. So I think we should facilitate that process. Agriculture has been extremely successful, there's no issue about that and we strongly depend on you to share your expertise and get our team to go and work on the possibility of improving, not only in terms of production but also irrigation and the Ministry of Agriculture is looking at it very seriously.
We mentioned education, energy and the Deputy Prime Minister has been discussing with your counterpart, with his counterpart in Australia, to again work on new areas. Of course, very successful venture Lynas, we had some issues in the beginning and but now we have decided to proceed and it is one of the, you know, major investments of Lynas into Malaysia and when I met them, I insisted that they proceed with the research facility centre for excellence and training of our personnel, young qualified engineers here and they are doing that very seriously. I need the support of Prime Minister Albanese on this.
The rest will cover the other issues, water management, youth and sports. Most students are going to Australia, I think because you have had that record, some of your universities, including Monash, of course is outstanding, and I've been there, not to study but to give lectures. Very little honorarium. Now I'm not complaining. my previous position, but they gave me I mean, great opportunity for exchanges, research and I'm grateful for that.
We discussed this on transnational crime, cyber security which I think we need to work on it and the various Ministers present and also we will probably, I will let my cabinet know on Friday, no, Friday is no cabinet. I'm sorry. I'm leaving on Thursday. What a relief again.
[Inaudible].
I'm also thankful that you've taken a strong position on cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Here, people are very passionate and I've been to Australia, people also very, very strong. And I have also had discussions with the President Donald Trump on this to make sure that this first phase is effective and then proceed on the more comprehensive solution to the conflict, including two-state solution because that's to me particular because in this days and age you talk about democratic transition, talk mobilisation, multilateralism and you condone these killings is just totally unacceptable and hypocritical. So I do express my appreciation to Penny Wong earlier and now to you that you take that position. At least to stop these hostilities and stop the killings and get humanitarian assistance in and work towards a more comprehensive solution.
So thank you again, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for being here and more important as a friend, as a true friend we have committed to come again early next year.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you so much, Prime Minister. And can I thank you for the leaders meeting that we've held today, but importantly as well congratulate you on your hosting of ASEAN, it has been enormously successful. We have seen the important progress towards peace of which Malaysia played an important role between Thailand and Cambodia. We have seen the 11th member join ASEAN with the ascension of Timor-Leste.
And we have seen constructive dialogue across the various meetings, including the East Asia Summit, but the 5th Annual Meeting of the Australia-ASEAN Summit as well. We have seen significant progress. My Government very much sees South East Asia as being central to Australia's future. That's why upon our election, one of the first things that we did was to ask Nicholas Moore, a very successful Australian businessman who is putting back into his nation by developing the Invested: Southeast Asia Strategy to 2040. That is an important document that is directly resulting in increased investment and two way trade in the region, really making an enormous difference. Deal Teams have identified some $20 billion of potential projects that have been established. We made announcements here as well of an additional quarter of a billion dollars of direct investment that we made on the very first morning of my visit here to Kuala Lumpur, and we continue to look at other projects. $700 million in project value has been facilitated by the Deal Teams in the last 12 months. The investment of a billion dollars by Monash University is incredibly significant and I look forward to watching the progress that occurs there. So the economic relationship is in good shape. Our defence and security relationship is also in good shape as well. We both are committed to the international rule of law.
We're both committed to the norms of engagement, respectfully and dialogue of peace and security in our region. And the cooperation there has now been expanded as well into areas your leadership you're showing in cyber security and dealing with scams and these issues is important as well.
Beyond everything, our people to people links. The figures of five hundred thousand Malaysians receiving educational benefit in Australia over the years is a very significant figure. What that means is that they return to Malaysia having had that skill uplift. But importantly as well, they become ambassadors for the relationship between our two nations and that is so strong as we go forward. So I think that the relationship is in very good shape as we as we go forward. It's good that we've had all of those MOUs witnessed here today that will lead to further development. This is my first visit as Prime Minister. I'm now committed to another visit as Prime Minister, which I'm delighted to do so having been here. It's not my first visit to Malaysia but previously I had a backpack on or had luggage as a tourist. It's a great place to visit but it's also a great place to engage in work and to engage in advancing our mutual interests, which are so strong between Australia and Malaysia and I thank you, your Ministers and all the teams who have helped. I know that something like an ASEAN Summit, we hosted you were very gracious to come down to Melbourne when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the relationship between Australia and ASEAN. We were the first partner of ASEAN and in Melbourne that was very successful. That took a lot of work. So this is a scale that's much greater as well. And can I say that that the cultural entertainment as well, not just of showing Malaysian culture but culture throughout Southeast Asia that was on display at last night's spectacular dinner was quite extraordinary. A lot of thought had gone into that and it was a way of engaging across the region as well. And we very much benefit from the fact that we're located in this region ourselves. We would welcome you as well. If I come here, you've got to come down to Australia again as well. I look forward to welcoming you in Australia. I know that your team are regular visitors as well, and I know that your Ministers have good relationships with Penny Wong and my team, Richard Marles and others and we look forward to welcoming you and them over the coming period. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: With regards to the bilateral meeting today, how do both Malaysia and Australia plan to ensure that moving forward, the strategic partnership between the both countries are strong, especially in areas that will define the next phase of cooperation between our two countries. We've seen MOUs exchanged today in several sectors, particularly the education. But how do both governments plan to further expand these collaborations to benefit our future generations?
PRIME MINISTER ANWAR: Normally the process we have adopted is that once this is agreed, then the following Cabinet meeting go through, then there's departments will be assigned to then follow through again and then given a month or two month they have to submit the report. So that to ensure the effective and efficient execution of the decision.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: I'm very confident about the agreements that have been reached because they build on the foundation which is there. This is a relationship of trust and engagement that has been developed over a long period of time, which has been assisted by the people to people relations. I hope that it's obvious that we are friends here on a personal level, that we engage regularly. We have had discussions, so I thank the Prime Minister for his very warm congratulations after our election that was held some months ago now as well. So it's building on that as well. So I'm very confident that we will be able to do so. And the example of the education, or achievements and that engagement that's occurring this morning, seeing young people, including young Malaysians, who participated in our Young Leaders' Dialogue that's occurring is just an example of those relationships.
JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, in your speech today, you said none of us are mere spectators. Could you please expand on what you meant by that? And in practical terms, what countries should be doing? And Prime Minister Anwar, you talk about wanting to be friends with everyone here in the region, a Chinese military jet released flares dangerously close to an Australian surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. Do friends fire flares?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Can I say in terms of us not being spectators, what that means is that we're not observers. We help create our own future and create history and that engagement, we're not passive, we're participants. And it's a different perspective that you have. Whereas you know people in the media are observers and your job is to commentate, our job is to think about how we can shape the change that's occurring.
One of the issues that we have discussed today, for example, is the impact of artificial intelligence, new technology. This is a challenge of leaders globally that we have. This is going to have an impact. It's having impact in the debate in Australia about, you know, cultural appropriation, including appropriation of media, intellectual property, the work that journalists do. Is that fair game just for someone to grab and not pay a fee for it? We don't think that is, which is why we have the Media Bargaining Code that we are trying to advance. So it is a matter of our perspective trying to look at what are the challenges and what's the role of government in shaping the response to those challenges. And somehow sometimes anticipating and helping to create the future, if you like, rather than just responding after the event.
PRIME MINISTER ANWAR: Once we establish the facts, we will raise. Engagement does not mean condoning whatever exercises. And the Chinese know that in my private exchanges with the President of China, and I know we represent a very small country and a relatively small economy. But still we represent a nation and we have the right to express because we need the wisdom not to be seen, to be unnecessarily combative. But we should bring it up once it is established, and we will seriously if it is established. I will do my part. Because I think it's important for all of us to express whether publicly or privately or whatever form, our concern that these region must remain free. And the policy of centrality does not mean that we don't see any centrality means we do express, and we have centrality. But we do engage with the issues of Gaza or Russia, Ukraine.
