CANBERRA, March 7 – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s one-day official visit to this capital city of Australia on Thursday underscores Malaysia’s commitment to further foster international partnership and drive economic development.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, is currently on a four-day official visit to Melbourne in conjunction with the second Malaysia-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting (2nd ALM) on March 4 and the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, hosted by Australia from March 5-6, 2024, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations.
These back-to-back official visits were at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
As part of his official visit to Canberra, Anwar is expected to deliver a public lecture at the Australian National University (ANU) under the invitation of the Distinguished Honorary Professor at the ANU, Professor the Honourable Gareth Evans.
This lecture presents a significant opportunity for the Prime Minister to share insights on Malaysia’s economic policies, financial strategies, and perspectives on regional and global economic trends.
ANU, being one of Australia’s leading research universities, provides a prestigious platform for Anwar to engage with academics, students, policymakers, and members of the public on matters of economic significance.
Later, the Prime Minister will pay a courtesy call on His Excellency General David Hurley, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, at the Government House, Canberra.
Australia is a close and important partner for Malaysia and both sides have deep cooperation in various sectors that include education, trade and investment, defence, cybersecurity as well as science and technology.
In 2023, Malaysia and Australia’s bilateral trade stood at US$18.57 billion (RM84.64 billion), solidifying Australia as Malaysia’s 10th largest trading partner.
As of December last year, Australia had approved investments in Malaysia involving 582 projects, with realised investments involving 366 projects.
