SEPANG: New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has arrived in Malaysia for a four-day working visit.
He arrived with his delegation at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 at 5.30pm today on a commercial flight and was greeted by the Foreign Ministry's chief of protocol Datuk Mohd Aini Atan.
Also present was New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia Pam Dunn.
Peters' visit is expected to further enhance bilateral ties between the two countries.
While here, Peters will meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and attend the inaugural Foreign Ministers Meeting under the New Zealand-Malaysia Strategic Partnership.
Malaysia and New Zealand established diplomatic relations on Sept 25, 1957, and the ties have remained strong and stable.
Malaysia consistently welcomes an increasing number of tourists from New Zealand each year, with 18,238 New Zealanders visiting Malaysia in 2022. Additionally, over 17,000 Malaysians reside in New Zealand.
In the Pacific region, Malaysia is New Zealand's second-largest trading partner, with the total trade volume between the two countries reaching RM6.32 billion (US$1.42 billion) as of June 2023.
The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), of which Malaysia and New Zealand are members along with Australia, the United Kingdom and Singapore, is one of the longest running defence arrangements in the world. – BERNAMA