PUTRAJAYA, Sept 6 — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Malaysia has responded to the double tragedies of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flights MH370 and MH17 with strength and resilience while acknowledging his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s wisdom, strength and leadership in dealing with them.

“I could not have asked for adviser or stronger friend and counsellor in this testing and difficult time, and thank him (Najib) for this friendship and his leadership,” he said.

Abbott made these remarks at a joint press conference with Najib held in conjunction with his one-day official visit to Malaysia here today.  Abbott, who engaged in talks with Najib earlier, vowed that they would not give up the search for the vanished MH370 aircraft.  “We owe to the families of those lost, we owe to the grieving countries, we owe to the curious all over the world, to do whatever we can, to resolve this mystery (of the missing MH370).

“We will not rest until it is resolved...Australia-Malaysia will be the strongest possible partners in this important task,” he said.  Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screen on March 8 while enroute from the KL International Airport to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board. 

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft has not been found despite an exhaustive search in the southern Indian Ocean where it was believed to have gone down after veering off course.

A renewed search effort has been mounted for the aircraft, with the Malaysian and Australian governments having signed a memorandum of understanding last month.

Najib said he and Abbott had been in very close contact over the last few months, ever since the search for MH370 and the alleged downing of MH17.

“I have a lot of respect for Prime Minister Abbott as a colleague. His response to these two tragedies has been resolute and he has shown admirable empathy for the affected families of the MH370 and MH17 victims,” he said.  Najib reiterated that Australia had proven itself an invaluable friend during these difficult times, having offered its assistance and cooperation without hesitation or delay.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.  

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was believed to have been shot down over the troubled country. 

Malaysians and Australians were among the nationals of several countries on board the two flights.

Najib said he and Abbott expressed great pleasure with the current state of Malaysia-Australia bilateral relations, characterised by long standing and substantive cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, education, defence and security.

“Today’s meeting has given both sides a sense of commitment to strengthen and enhance the existing level and scope of cooperation between Malaysia and Australia,” he said. — Bernama