KUALA LUMPUR: Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah was accorded a state welcome at Istana Negara in conjunction with his three-day state visit to Malaysia.
On arrival at the palace at 11am yesterday, Sultan Hassanal and his consort Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha were greeted by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
Present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Cabinet ministers.
The Royal Malay Regiment central band sang the national anthems of the two nations to start the state welcoming ceremony, which included a 21-gun salute.
The Sultan of Brunei then inspected a guard of honour mounted by four officers and 103 rank-and-file personnel of the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment.Sultan Hassanal and Sultan Abdullah then planted a Simpor tree (Dillenia suffroticosa) in the palace compound, witnessed by Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha, Tunku Azizah, Anwar and Dr Wan Azizah.
Warm welcome: Sultan Abdullah greeting Sultan Hassanal at the state welcoming ceremony at the National Palace grounds yesterday. – Bernama
The two kings convened a meeting to discuss the long-standing bilateral relations between Malaysia and Brunei.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong then hosted a state banquet in honour of the visiting monarch.
The Sultan of Brunei met with Anwar at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya thereafter and witnessed the signing of several bilateral instruments between the two countries.
Last night, the Brunei Sultan also attended a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister at the Malaysian Petroleum Club located in the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.
In 2019, Sultan Abdullah undertook a three-day state visit to Brunei to strengthen the existing ties and bilateral relations between the two countries.
Brunei was the first country visited by Sultan Abdullah after his appointment as Malaysia’s 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In 2022, Brunei was Malaysia’s 26th largest trading partner and the sixth largest within Asean, with a total trade amounting to RM13.22bil, an increase of 68.4% compared to the recorded value in 2021. — Bernama
