PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hosted an official luncheon today honouring Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his delegation at Seri Perdana.
The Sultan and his entourage arrived at the prime minister’s official residence at 11.25 am and were warmly received by Anwar.
Accompanying the Sultan was Prince Abdul Mateen Bolkiah, as well as Bruneian cabinet ministers and senior officials.
Also present at the luncheon were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
Earlier today, Anwar and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah held discussions on strengthening bilateral relations and witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health cooperation.
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah is on a three-day visit from Aug 25 to 27 at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.
The state visit is the third by a foreign head of state since Sultan Ibrahim ascended the throne as Malaysia’s 17th King, following visits by the Presidents of China and Indonesia.
In 2024, Brunei was Malaysia’s sixth-largest trading partner in ASEAN, with total trade amounting to RM7.53 billion (US$1.77 billion).
Between January and June this year, Malaysia-Brunei trade stood at US$690 million (RM3.02 billion), comprising exports worth US$500 million (RM2.18 billion) and imports valued at US$190 million (RM840 million). – Bernama