Palestine, Rohingya crisis top topics during discussions between PM Razak, Yameen

The Palestine crisis and the Rohingya Muslim crisis in Myanmar were the top topics during discussions between Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak this Wednesday.

During the joint press statement issued by the two leaders after discussions at the President’s Office this Wednesday, both leaders said they discussed major issues facing the Islamic community, especially the Palestine crisis and the Rohingya crisis. They said they agreed to cooperate at the international platform for a solution to address the two issues.

President Yameen said the two governments have agreed to provide more cooperation to address issues facing the Islamic community and to unite the Islamic community.

“We especially focused on Palestine and the Rohingya crisis. We discussed further cooperation between Maldives and Malaysia to address the issues,” said President Yameen.

PM Razak said the Malaysian government’s stand regarding Palestine was clear-cut. He said Palestine belonged to Palestinians and that the government of Malaysia was against the decision of the US government to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“We made our stand very clear at the recent OIC Summit held in Istanbul. We are against recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” said PM Razak.

PM Razak said the Malaysian government was also keeping a close eye on the Rohingya crisis, and was providing health care to refugees at the Cox Bazar in Bangladesh.

He said he had discussed the Rohingya crisis with the world’s top leaders, including US President Donald Trump. He said the Malaysian government wanted the issue to be resolved as soon as possible, and for Rohingya Muslims to return to their homes.

Additional topics of discussion between the two leaders included terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization. Both leaders agreed to redouble joint efforts to combat the menace of terrorism.

PM Razak is in Maldives on a two-day visit. The government of the two countries have signed four key agreements after discussions.