From Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin
RIYADH: A very tight schedule awaits Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during his two-day working visit here to attend the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit.
Anwar is scheduled to deliver a speech that will highlight the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the inaugural ASEAN-GCC Summit this morning.
As Malaysia being the ASEAN coordinator for the summit, Anwar’s speech is expected to touch on efforts to strengthen the ties and cooperation between the two regional blocs.
The GCC is a political and economic alliance formed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
ASEAN and GCC established relations in 1990 when the Gulf bloc expressed interest in establishing formal ties with its Southeast Asian counterpart.
On the sidelines of the summit, Anwar is also scheduled to to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders in the GCC bloc in a bid to strengthen cooperation and discuss current issues related to the two regions.
According to the Prime Minister’s itenerary shared by Wisma Putra, Anwar is scheduled to perform Friday prayers at Riyadh Grand Mosque here before attending an engagement session with Malaysian diaspora.
In the evening, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with Secretary-General of the Muslim World League Dr Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa.
Tomorrow, Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, is scheduled to hold discussions with Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer Amin H Nasser, followed by meetings with Saudi Arabia’s captains of industry and giant companies.
The Prime Minister will also be featured in an interview with Al-Arabiya Channel.
Anwar is also scheduled to meet with Saudi Prime Minister Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday to further discuss the Palestinian issue and bilateral relations.
Saudi Arabia is Malaysia’s largest trading partner among the West Asian countries, with US$10.26 billion in total bilateral trade recorded between the two countries in 2022, an increase of 159.2 per cent from 2021.
Among the prominent projects the Kingdom has in Malaysia is the Pengerang Integrated Complex in Johor, through Saudi Aramco.
Upon conclusion of the visit, Anwar is scheduled to depart to Ankara, Turkiye, and meet with the country’s leader to discuss matters related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.- BERNAMA
