Introduction
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a government agency which is responsible for conducting Malaysia’s foreign relations with other countries in matters relating to political relations, economic affairs, security matters, and social and cultural promotion. The role and function of the Ministry is to:
- Uphold, promote and protect Malaysia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity?and interests
- Monitor and analyse developments in the international arena
- Develop and advise the government on foreign policy options
- Communicate the government’s foreign policy position
- Assist other ministries and agencies in international dealings; and
- Assist Malaysian citizens abroad
The Ministry is also geared towards fulfilling the following objectives:
- Maintaining peaceful relations with all countries regardless of its?ideology and political system
- Adopting an independent, non-aligned, and principled stance in regional and international diplomatic affairs
- Forging close relations and economic partnerships with all nations, particularly with ASEAN and other regional friends
- Promoting peace and stability in the region through capacity building and conflict resolution measures
- Playing an influential leadership role as Chair of the ASEAN, Non-aligned?Movement (NAM) and Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) (As we did in the last few years)
- Participating actively and meaningfully in the United Nations, especially in the efforts to end injustice and oppression, and to uphold international law; and
- Projecting Malaysia as a leading example of a tolerant and progressive Islamic nation
Legal Framework
Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR)
- Provides training in research in diplomacy, international relations and?languages for government officers, international participants from developing countries under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) as well as ASEAN, Commonwealth, Colombo Plan member countries
- Organizes public lectures, forums, roundtable discussions, seminars?workshops for government officials, academicians and university students, representatives from think tanks, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), training institutes and members of the diplomatic corps based in Kuala Lumpu
South-East Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT)
- In collaboration with established think-tanks and international?organisations, SEARCCT provides training for enforcement, security and other government officers on counter-terrorism
- Promotes Malaysia’s perspective and approach in counter-terrorism which?is inclusive of utilizing various training courses, seminars, workshops, conferences, and forums to discuss and disseminate information on counter-terrorism
