Dr. Adina Kamarudin, Director-General of the Department of Maritime Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, accompanied by He Xiangqi, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, visited the First Institute of Oceanography (FIO). Qiao Fangli, Secretary of FIO's party committee, gave the delegation a warm reception on April 17, 2019.

In recent years, FIO have established close cooperative relations with the University of Malaya, National University of Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), etc., and jointly carried out projects such as the Ocean Forecasting System (OFS) in Southeast Asia, marine sedimentation around the Malay Peninsula and its response to seasonal monsoons, leading to fruitful results. FIO-UM Joint Center of Marine Science and Technology, jointly organized by FIO and the University of Malaya, was established in December 2017.

Secretary Qiao, extended a warm welcome to Dr. Adina Kamarudin. He reviewed the cooperation between the two sides in recent years and hoped to, based on the existing cooperation, continue to promote and deepen bilateral cooperation in ocean observation and forecast, marine geology and environment. As ocean-related departments of both sides have undergone restructuring, it is recommended that high-level contact mechanism be re-established as soon as possible. Adina expressed sincere gratitude to the warm reception of FIO, recognized achievements made through bilateral cooperation, and stated that she would facilitate the establishment of minister-level contact mechanism as soon as possible and support bilateral cooperation in related fields. At the symposium, the two sides also conducted in-depth exchanges of the progress of FIO-UM Joint Center of Marine Science and Technology and OFS.

During the visit, Adina and other delegates visits the China Ocean Sample Repository. Other members of FIO also participated in this event, including Zheng Wei, deputy director of the Division of International Cooperation, Fang Yue, deputy head of the Lab of Marine Geology and Geophysics, and Liu Yanguang, deputy head of the Center for Ocean and Climate Research.