CAIRO: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's four-day visit to Egypt is set to strengthen ties between Malaysia and the North African country.
This will be Anwar's second visit to Egypt since taking office. His first trip to the country was last October.
Anwar, who arrives today, is visiting at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in conjunction with the 65th anniversary of Malaysia-Egypt ties tomorrow.
Malaysian Ambassador to Egypt, Datuk Mohd Tarid Sufian said Anwar would be given a state welcome by El-Sisi at the Al-Ittihadiya Palace, before a meeting with the president.
Anwar and El-Sisi are expected to discuss bilateral issues covering higher education, investment, trade, tourism, health, renewable energy, natural resources and the halal industry.
The two leaders will also discuss pressing regional and international issues, especially the Palestinian conflict.
"The Prime Minister's visit marks an important milestone in Malaysia and Egypt ties, it will open the door to new opportunities to strengthen and diversify cooperation," Mohd Tarid told a press conference here yesterday.
"It will lay the foundation for synergy in addressing various regional and global issues for mutual benefit."
He said Anwar and El-Sisi will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Malaysian government and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif on Islamic issues.
During the trip, Anwar will also give a lecture at the Al-Azhar University, hold engagement sessions with Egyptian captains of industry, and officiate a Proton assembly centre.
The Malaysian delegation to Egypt will also include Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Investment Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, and Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Huang Tiong Sii.
Egypt is Malaysia's fifth largest trading partner among African countries with bilateral trade valued at RM3.35 billion last year.
In 2023, the value of exports and imports increased by 21.4 per cent compared to the previous year.
For the nine months of this year, trade surpassed the RM3 billion mark.
"We expect trade value to increase by 60 to 70 per cent," he said, adding this covered palm oil, processed food, rubber-based and chemical products among others.