President Yoon Suk Yeol and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim shakes hands during their summit at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Nov. 25. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim agreed on Monday to forge a strategic partnership to deepen bilateral cooperation in the defense inidustry, trade, energy, supply chains and other areas.

The two leaders reached the agreement during a summit held as part of Anwar's three-day official visit to South Korea, which began on Sunday.

In a joint declaration, the leaders pledged to broaden the scope of collaboration in a wide range of areas as the two countries commemorate the 65th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

"I hope the bilateral cooperation would expand beyond trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges to include defense, the arms industry and emerging fields, such as green hydrogen and key minerals," Yoon said in opening remarks.

Anwar identified new areas of collaboration, including artificial intelligence and digital technologies, alongside regional security, the defense industry and economic partnerships.

Yoon and Anwar highlighted the defense industry cooperation as a "symbol of mutual trust" under the strategic partnership and agreed to advance collaboration in research and development and defense technologies, according to Yoon's office.

Korea Aerospace Industries signed a deal in May 2023 to supply 18 FA-50 jets to Malaysia and is also targeting the Southeast Asian nation's upcoming project to procure additional light attack jets.

The leaders also committed to concluding negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement by next year to boost cooperation in services, investment, and emerging industries, such as biotechnology and green energy.

On the sidelines of the summit, both governments signed memorandums of understanding to facilitate collaboration in critical mineral supply chains, carbon capture and storage technologies, greenhouse gas reduction projects, and tourism.

During the talks, the leaders expressed concerns over the deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches, according to the declaration.

They strongly urged Pyongyang to refrain from additional provocations and abide by the U.N. Security Council resolutions and committed to the "complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea.

Anwar also expressed support for Yoon's vision of a free and unified Korean Peninsula and welcomed Seoul's peace efforts in the region, it noted. (Yonhap)