PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Oct 1 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has consented to host the state visit by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Cindy Kiro, from Sunday until Oct 4.
Malaysian Foreign Ministry in a statement said this will be Kiro’s first visit to Malaysia and the Southeast Asia region after assuming the post of Governor-General on Oct 21, 2021.
The last state visit by a Governor-General of New Zealand was undertaken by Dame Patsy Reddy from Dec 5 to 8 in 2017.
“This visit underscores the importance of existing bilateral ties and multi-faceted cooperation, which were officially elevated to strategic partnership in May 2023,” the statement read.
According to the ministry, highlights of the visit include a state welcoming ceremony at Istana Negara (national palace), an audience with the King and a state banquet in honour of Kiro.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is also scheduled to call on the Governor-General.
Kiro will be accompanied by her spouse, Dr Richard Davies, and senior officials from New Zealand’s Government House.
New Zealand remains Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in the Pacific region.
The total trade from January to June 2023 was valued at US$1.42 billion, an increase of 15.3 per cent compared to US$1.27 billion for the same period in 2022.
— NNN-BERNAMA