Malaysia-Germany agree to strengthen strategic defense cooperation

JAKARTA - Malaysia and Germany have expressed their commitment to continue strengthening bilateral defense relations, in order to increase defense cooperation to a more strategic level.

The commitment was conveyed during a meeting between the German Ambassador to Malaysia, Silke Riecken-Daerr, with Malaysian Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday.

Mohamed Khaled, as reported by BERNAMA, said in the meeting that he and the German ambassador also discussed plans to finalize the Joint Declaration of Intent (JDOI) on the sidelines of the 2026 Munich Security Conference (Munich Security Conference/MSC), which is scheduled to take place in mid-February.

The discussion also touched on defense industry cooperation with Germany in line with Malaysia's National Defense Industry Policy (DIPN), as well as German support for Malaysian defense through the Enable and Enhance (E&E) Initiative.

E&E is a security assistance initiative from the German government aimed at helping strategic partners improve their military and security capabilities, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

"The implementation of the E&E Initiative, which begins in 2024, includes proposals to improve military training facilities. Discussions also include the involvement of German defense industries in the 2026 Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition," said Khaled.