The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Jawi: ), abbreviated KLN, is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for foreign affairs, Malaysian diaspora, foreigners in Malaysia, diplomacy, foreign relations, counter terrorism, bilateral affairs, multilateral affairs, ASEAN, international protocol, consular services, maritime affairs, and chemical weapons. It is currently based in Putrajaya. It is also widely known as Wisma Putra, which is also the name of its building in Putrajaya.

Organisation

Federal departments

Federal agencies

Key legislation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for administration of several key Acts:

History

The origin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began before Malaysia's independence in 1957. The groundwork for the establishment of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as it was initially called, was initiated a year prior to Independence particularly with through the training of a batch of eleven diplomats to man the country's diplomatic missions overseas. This pioneering group was trained in the United Kingdom and Australia. The Ministry of External Affairs was modeled after the British Foreign Office. Initially, Malaysia had diplomatic missions in London, New York City with a concurrent office in Washington D.C., Canberra, New Delhi, Jakarta and Bangkok. In 1963, there were fourteen Malaysian missions and twenty-five countries were represented in Malaysia (four by way of concurrent accreditation). In 1965, the diplomatic machinery of Malaysia faced its first major reorganisation. In 1966, there was an accelerated growth pattern of the Foreign Ministry particularly with regard to the personnel and the financial allocation for its activities. That year also witnessed a change in the designation of MEA to the preferred terminology of "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" and also saw the physical relocation and consolidation of the Ministry. From its original premises at the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the Ministry moved to Wisma Putra. The Wisma Putra Complex is based on a combination of both traditional and modern architecture.

Functions

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs bears the mandate and responsibility to conduct Malaysia's foreign relations with other countries. This includes matters related to political relations, economic affairs, security matters, and social and cultural promotion. The Ministry is geared towards fulfilling its role and functions:

Legal Framework

The External Affairs Legislations that fall within the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are: In addition, the Federal Constitution allows Parliament to make laws related to external affairs that include: