KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will leave on an official visit to Qatar from May 12 to May 14.
The Prime Minister's inaugural visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Qatar.
His visit is by invitation of the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who he will also have an audience with, read a press statement from Wisma Putra.
He will be joined by Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Mohamad Hasan, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, and Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
During the visit, they will meet Qatar Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Jassim Al-Thani.
Both leaders are expected to talk about bilateral relations, especially in economics, and education, and discuss regional and global issues, including the situation between Palestine and Israel.
While in Doha, the Prime Minister will join the 4th Qatar Economy Forum (QEF) 2024.
He will meet with Qatar's business leaders and potential investors who are interested in participating in Malaysian economic initiatives.
He will also meet with the Malaysians living in Doha.
The official visit aims to strengthen the long-standing relationship and cooperation between Malaysia and Qatar.
Trade between Malaysia and Qatar increased by 178.4% from January to March 2024, reaching RM1.43 billion (USD303.9 million), compared to RM514.9 million (USD116.7 million) during the same period in 2023.
In 2023, Qatar was Malaysia's fifth-largest trading partner, sixth-largest export destination, and sixth-largest import source from the West Asia region.