PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today described ties between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia as being at an "all time high".
Najib also expressed confidence that Saudi Arabian ruler King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud's visit to Malaysia will strengthen the bonds between both nations.
“I would say it (the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia) is an all-time high between our two countries.
“And I am confident that King Salman's visit is not only historic, but will cement and put our relations on a very strong trajectory now as well as in the future.
“King Salman had used the terms ‘the highest ever’ or ‘best ever relations’ between the two countries (in describing the ties between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia),” he said.
Najib was addressing a press conference at Seri Perdana today after hosting an official luncheon for King Salman and Saudi delegates.
Najib added that he felt honoured at hosting King Salman in the latter’s visit to Malaysia.
He described the bilateral discussions with King Salman as “productive” and that they had covered various aspects, touching on ways to boost relations.
Earlier today, King Salman and Najib had witnessed the signing of four important memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the Malaysian and Saudi governments.
The MoUs involve scientific, educational and economic cooperation, labour and human resources, and the exchange of news between Bernama and the Saudi Press Agency.
Universiti Malaya is scheduled to confer an honorary Doctor of Letters on King Salman this evening, while the International Islamic University of Malaysia will be awarding an honorary doctorate of Philosophy in Political Science tomorrow.
King Salman's is on a historic four-day state visit to Malaysia.
Malaysia is King Salman's first country of visit in Southeast Asia since his ascension to the throne in 2015.
The Saudi ruler’s visit is at the invitation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V.
The last state visit by a King of Saudi Arabia to Malaysia was in 2006 by the late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud. The late King Faisal Abdulaziz Al-Saud made a state visit to Malaysia in 1970.
Saudi Arabia is Malaysia's second largest trading partner in the Middle East. Nearly 60 per cent of Malaysia's total exports to Saudi Arabia are related to palm oil and palm-based agricultural products, machinery, equipment and parts, processed food and electrical and electronic products.