Following strained relations since the 2006 murder of Mongolian national Sh.Altantuya, Malaysia is now working to revive bilateral ties with Mongolia. Malaysia’s ambassador to China who is concurrently accredited to Mongolia, Zainuddin Yahya, said he is hopeful that Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s visit to Mongolia will revive the relationship.

Ms. Wan Azizah is scheduled to arrive in Mongolia later today for a three-day visit. She is attending the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) at the Mongolian capital until July 5. Wan Azizah’s visit to Mongolia is her first as deputy prime minister.

‘It is my fervent hope that the working visit by the deputy prime minister to Mongolia will lead to the revival and strengthening of relations between the two countries,’ Zainuddin said. He is also hoping that the joint commission for the economic, scientific and technical agreement, which was signed between the two countries many years ago, can be revived. Zainuddin said Malaysia and Mongolia ‘had never met’ after the agreement was signed.

Malaysia established diplomatic ties with Mongolia in 1971 but engagements at the ministerial level had been limited, he said. Zainuddin said the Malaysia-Mongolia diplomatic relationship became lethargic in 1997 as there had been few exchanges at the ministerial and official levels, and within the private sector. Trade volumes between Malaysia and Mongolia were valued at RM73.6 million in 2017 and RM66.7 million in 2016. Malaysia exports electrical products, processed food, palm oil-based products and agricultural products to Mongolia. Mongolia exports cashmere goods and scrap iron to Malaysia.

He acknowledged that the Altantuya murder had turned the relationship ‘colder’. He believes the Mongolian government took an interest in the case and is seeking a fair judgment. Sh.Altantuya is believed to have been shot dead before her body was blown up with explosives in a forest near the Subang Dam in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam, in 2006.Former Special Action Force personnel Sirul Azhar Umar, together with his colleague Azilah Hadri, were convicted of Altantuya’s murder and sentenced to death. Zainuddin said Malaysia’s new government had made clear that the Sh.Altantuya case would be reopened and has pledged for the case to be subjected to the rule of law. Zainuddin said he has yet to receive any request from the Mongolian government for a meeting on the  Sh.Altantuya case.