KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent visit to Saudi Arabia was successful, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.
Fahmi said this was despite Anwar not having an audience with King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud or Crown Prince Mohammed Salman Al-Saud during his first official visit to the kingdom.
As the accompanying minister for the trip, Fahmi said Anwar's entourage was treated well throughout the trip.
"The transition into Ramadan was the reason why the prime minister was invited to extend his three-day official visit by two days.
"Unfortunately, he had to decline as he had a breaking-of-fast event with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong last night (Saturday/March 25) along with cabinet members," he told reporters when met after handing out 'Back to School' aid to 271 primary and secondary students in his constituency.
Fahmi said the visit had met its objectives, which was to strengthen Kuala Lumpur's bilateral relations and cooperation with Riyadh.
He called on certain quarters who had claimed the visit as a "failure" to stop doing so.
"We are in the month of Ramadan, therefore we should focus on reflecting on ourselves and give extra attention to more acts of worship.
"So, stop trying to create a dispute and most importantly, Alhamdulillah, the visit to Saudi Arabia has achieved its objective."
Fahmi added that the Saudi king and crown prince were among the earliest foreign dignitaries who congratulated Anwar on his appointment as the country's 10th prime minister.
He said during the visit, Anwar had a meeting with various parties including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation secretary-general and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) president.
Fahmi said IDB had shown interest, particularly in telecommunications infrastructure.
"We spoke to the president and vice-presidents. They were keen on our efforts in making Malaysia a data centre hub for Southeast Asia.
"This is a positive development and will see if we can bring in investment opportunities."
Yesterday, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal questioned the outcome of Anwar's visit to Saudi Arabia as the premier did not meet the crown prince.
Anwar began his visit to the kingdom on Wednesday. He was accompanied by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, among others.