Penny Wong promises Australia will be a reliable provider of wheat and meat for Malaysia

Penny Wong has reassured Malaysia that Australia will be a ‘reliable supplier of wheat and meat’ as fears mount over a food crisis as a result of the Ukraine invasion.

Penny Wong, left, with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Picture: Joshua Paul

Penny Wong has reassured Malaysia that Australia will be a “reliable supplier of wheat and meat” as fears mount over a food crisis as a result of the Ukraine invasion.

But the Australian foreign minister failed to allay lingering fears over the potential for the AUKUS security pact to trigger an arms build up during discussions with her Malaysian counterpart, Saifuddin Abdullah, on Tuesday

Senator Wong made the commitment to help Malaysia overcome food supply constraints in her first visit to the country of her birth since the labor party’s election victory last month.

The two also agreed to work to improve two-way trade, which has soared more than 30 per cent since 2020 to $US40bn ($57.7bn) a year.

“I think the consequences of what’s occurring in Ukraine are obviously strategic but they are also economic and one of the points we discussed in the meeting was Australia continues to be a reliable supplier of wheat and meat at a time when global supply chains have been constrained,” Senator Wong said.

“Obviously as a comprehensive strategic partner we will work with Malaysia, if required, on any issues they have in terms of their supply constraints arising out of the conflict in Ukraine.”

Australia’s commitment to help its comprehensive strategic Partners with food supply issues will be welcomed as Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged G7 nations meeting in Germany this week to allow the reintegration of Russian food and fertiliser exports into global supply chains to prevent serious food shortages in the region.

Australian wheat producers have warned that – despite another bumper harvest – logistics issues and high freight costs mean they cannot plug the massive gaps in global wheat supplies caused by the Ukraine conflict, which is expected to leave many countries desperately short.

Malaysia imposed a ban on the export of live chickens last month, one of a suite of recent measures taken to address rising food costs and concerns over potential food shortages.

In what has now become a standard agenda item in bilateral discussions across Southeast Asia, Senator Wong also assured Malaysia the AUKUS security pact – under which Canberra hopes to acquire nuclear-powered submarines – would not lead to Australia becoming a nuclear-armed nation.

Senator Wong landed in Malaysia on Tuesday after a two-day visit to Vietnam, where she met with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and underlined her government’s determination to listen to its neighbours and build trust.

“We want to understand your perspectives on the opportunities and challenges we face and how we can meet them together,” she said during a speech in Hanoi.

While the 53-year-old’s appointment has been warmly welcomed in Malaysia – where her first visit as foreign minister will include a triumphant homecoming to her childhood home of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah – her visit failed to allay fears that the AUKUS pact could trigger an arms build-up.

Mr Saifuddin said the two ministers had a “very candid discussion on AUKUS and I thank the foreign minister for explaining the current government position”.

“Malaysia’s position remains the same, and this I have mentioned,” he added.