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 Iran |  Malaysia |
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Iran–Malaysia relations refers to thecurrent and historical relationship betweenIran andMalaysia. Iran has an embassy inKuala Lumpur,[1] and Malaysia has an embassy inTehran.[2] Both countries are members of theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and theNon-Aligned Movement (NAM) and have used these forums and bilateral relations to develop political ties.
Relations between the two countries have existed since the independence of Malaysia. Persian influences on theMalay Peninsula are much older with traces from some centuries ago as they were once engaged in trade inLembah Bujang andMalacca together with traces ofPersian literature in Malay language.[3]
Both countries have co-operated in a number of large industrial projects, many of them in the energy sector.[4] Earlier in October 2007, Iran and Malaysia were working towards an extensive multilateral oil refinery deal withVenezuela in Syria.[5] In December 2007, the two signed a US$6 billion deal to develop areas of Iran's offshore gas fields.[6]
In January 2017, the two countries are set to pursue afree trade agreement.[7] Amemorandum of understanding (MoU) on gas field study was signed in February betweenNational Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Malaysia's Bukhary International Ventures (BIV).[8] Both countries have integrated their banking transactions and also agreed to use local currencies along withChinese yuan andJapanese yen in their bilateral trade.[9][10][11] As of 2015, there are around 5,000 Iranian students in Malaysia, while only 15 Malaysian students in Iran.[12]
Despite these matters of historical traces, political relations between two countries are recently tense due to alleged Iranian interferences promotingShi'a Islam in largelySunni adherence of Malaysia which in response the latter government has passed severalanti-Shi'a laws to limit the activities of Shi'a followers in the country to prevent their spread.[13][14]
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