SEPANG, July 1 — An Australia, China and Malaysia ministerial meeting is to be held on July 19 in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the way forward in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that has been missing since March 2014.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said today the transport ministers of the three countries would attend the tripartite meeting.

"We (Australia, China and Malaysia) will not call off for the search. We are committed to complete the 120,000 sq km search. So far, we have completed 107,000 sq km.

"We will make an announcement on the way forward,” he told reporters after launching the iWalk walkalators at the KL International Airport 2 (klia2) here.

Liow said bad weather had hampered the search but it would resume in October when the situation improved.

Flight MH370 crashed on March 8, 2014, when flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Meanwhile, Liow welcomed the appointment of Peter Bellew as Malaysia Airlines Bhd new group managing director and chief executive officer. 

He said Bellew was familiar with the airline as he had been assisting his predecessor Christoph Mueller.

"It is a very smooth succession. I am very confident that MAB will be able to make a turnaround. We wish him all the best,” he said.

MAB yesterday named Bellew to succeed Mueller who has resigned and will go on leave and step down from the Malaysia Airlines board today.

Bellew has over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry. He has been a member of Malaysia Airlines’ senior management team since September 1 last year. — Bernama