Tun Musa Hitam, Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia was awarded a Jubilee Medal to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the development of Malaysian-Kazakh relations. The award was presented by H.E. Beibut Atamkulov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Malaysia.
The Jubilee Medal was established in order to encourage the citizens of Kazakhstan and friends and supporters of the country to make significant contributions to the development and strengthening of the statehood and sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Independence of Kazakhstan. Past recipients of the award include leaders from Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.
In Tun Musa’s acceptance speech, he underscored the importance of Malaysia and the Republic of Kazakhstan strengthening their ties in 2012 and onwards, “Malaysia has had a very robust relationship with Kazakhstan. Our countries have signed various bilateral trade agreements, which have reinforced ties. Malaysia and Kazakhstan both have an abundance of natural resources, are both multi-ethnic and each share the goal of becoming a hub for their respective regions,” said Tun.
Throughout his impressive career as statesman, Tun Musa has been widely honoured various times at the international level. These include as Chairman of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Member of UNESCO and Leader of various Commonwealth Missions as well as a number of senior government posts. The result has been global recognition for his work towards the advancement of the socioeconomic wellbeing of communities worldwide.
The auspicious event was graced by H.E. Beibut B. Atamkulov, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Malaysia and was attended by representatives from the WIEF Foundation, members of the local media and few invited guests.
His Excellency said that the award demonstrates recognition by Kazakhstan of Tun Musa’s special merits in maintaining peace, justice, and sustainable development.
Malaysia will be lending its expertise and support for five key projects to assist the Central Asian republic. They are Islamic banking, oil and gas, electricity generation and a landmark hotel reflecting Malaysian architecture and culture in Kazakhstan’s capital. The World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation and the Kazakhstan government will continue to explore other means and ways of forging closer working relations, increase trade in select areas, and provide opportunities for educational and cultural exchange, among other areas.
Recipients of the previous Jubilee Medal were:
Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan
Karim Massimov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
- Mami, Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan
- Saudabayev, Secretary of State of Kazakhstan
- Musin, Head of Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan
Igor Rogov, Chairman of the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan
- Beknazarov, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan
- Marchenko, Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan
Georgi Parvanov, President of Bulgaria
Natig Aliyev, Minister of Industry and Energy of Azerbaijan and others.
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About the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation
The WIEF Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in Kuala Lumpur, organises the annual World Islamic Economic Forum, a world-class business platform showcasing business opportunities in the Muslim world, and runs programmes of the various initiatives of the Foundation that strengthen people partnership and knowledge exchange between Muslim and non-Muslim communities across the globe.
True to its commitment to ‘Build Bridges Through Business’, the WIEF Foundation also formed the WIEF Businesswomen Network (WBN), WIEF Young Leaders Network (WYN) and the WIEF Education Trust (WET) to focus on initiatives such as roundtable discussions, leadership programmes, business networking forums, and even creative arts festivals. For more information, visit www.wief.org.