During their bilateral meeting on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed the agreement to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

NEW YORK (Sept 21): Türkiye has agreed that Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) will continue to operate the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (ISG) International Airport.

During their bilateral meeting on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed the agreement to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“He (Erdogan) agreed that MAHB should continue operating the ISG, as they are satisfied with the success of the company in the first stage, and now they want to extend [operations], including building a longer runway,” Anwar said at a press conference after meeting with the president of Türkiye.

Anwar, who was in New York to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly, said Türkiye strongly believes that MAHB is best suited and capable of running the ISG operations.

Although the agreement to continue operations by MAHB has been announced, Anwar said it will go through the normal process under the relevant ministries.

“This tremendous support is also a vote of confidence in the Malaysian company to develop and manage the ISG,” he added.

Fully owned by MAHB, the airport is the sixth busiest gateway in Europe, with passenger numbers reaching 25 million in 2021, which was 70% of the pre-pandemic level.

During the meeting, which was also attended by Cabinet ministers from both countries, Anwar said they also discussed efforts to increase bilateral cooperation in terms of investment and trade.

Malaysia is Türkiye’s largest trading partner in Asean, with a trade volume of US$4.7 billion (RM22.05 billion) in 2022, a 35% growth from 2021.

Malaysia’s total export volume to Türkiye in 2022 reached RM17.39 billion, which largely comprised palm oil, palm oil-based agricultural products, metal manufacturing, textiles, clothing, footwear, electrical and electronics products, and palm oil-based manufactured products.

Total imports in 2022 stood at RM2.86 billion, which included petroleum products, jewellery, iron and steel products, chemicals and chemical products, textiles, clothing and footwear.

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