Malaysia–South Africa relations refers to the current and historical relationship between

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Malaysia has a high commission in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, and South Africa has a high commission in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. Relations between the two countries have been very good and have continued to improve, with each other view themselves as close partners in the

developing world A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. Both are full members of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

History

Following its independence, Malaysia (then the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

) supported moves to isolate the white minority government in South Africa and its policy of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, leading to South Africa's withdrawal from the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

in 1961. It also imposed a travel ban on travel to and from South Africa, which was lifted in 1991, with a Liaison Office being established in Johannesburg the following year. Weekly direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Johannesburg began on 26 October 1992. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 8 November 1993. In March 1997, South Africa's President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

made a state visit to Malaysia to strengthen economic ties between the two with the signing of several economic agreements. Malaysia was one of the strongest supporters of the ANC during its fight against apartheid. Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...

was the first foreign leader to visit Mandela after his release in 1990.

Economic relations

In 2003, South Africa request for more investments and assistance to build their economy and human resources. By the time, Malaysia is already the third largest investor in the country with its investments mainly in the telecommunications, oil and gas and hospitality sectors. By 2010, Malaysia was the fourth largest new investor in South Africa. Along the same year, Malaysia was South Africa's 20th largest total trade partner with roughly 4.8 million

Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

in volume.

History

Economic relations

See also

References

Further reading