KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today received the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Executive Council Chairman Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who is on a four-day special visit to Malaysia.
The Crown Prince who arrived at the Parliament building to pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister was welcomed by Anwar and accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
The meeting between the two leaders is in conjunction with a special visit by His Highness and the first visit to Malaysia since his appointment as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council on March 29.
During the courtesy call, both leaders are expected to discuss and exchange views on bilateral, regional and International issues of mutual interest.
The special visit is expected to strengthen the longstanding good relations between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which has been upgraded to a Strategic Partnership on Sept 27, 2022.
Tomorrow, which will be the third day (May 23) of his Special visit, His Highness will have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara (National Palace).
The UAE is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner and export destination and the second largest import destination in the West Asia region.
In 2022, Malaysia’s total trade with the UAE rose by 73.5 per cent to RM38.73 billion from RM22.33 billion the year before.