Charles, Camilla arrive for four-day visit
SEPANG: Prince of Wales Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived here yesterday on an official visit to commemorate the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
The Royal Air Force aircraft carrying them landed in Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 6.45pm, and they were welcomed by Minister-in-Attendance Datuk Seri S.K. Devamany, who is deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Present were Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and British High Commissioner to Malaysia Vicki Treadell.
Prince Charles and Camilla then walked past a guard of honour. They are scheduled to visit a number of places in Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Sarawak and Penang, as well as participate i n significant events over the span of seven days from yesterday to Nov 8.
They are expected to engage with all levels of Malaysians, from royalty to underprivileged children and the business community.
They are also expected to have an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at Istana Negara and grant an audience to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
This is the royalty’s maiden visit to Malaysia.
Previous visits by British royalty here were by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, who attended the official opening of the 16th Common- wealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, and the visit by Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in September 2012.
Relations between Malaysia and the UK encompass a wide range of areas, including trade, defence and security, education, digital economy, green technology, renewable energy, culture and tourism.
Malaysia is the UK’s second largest export market in Asean, and the UK is Malaysia’s third trading partner in Europe.
In the education field, there are more than 18,000 Malaysians studying in the UK.
The royal visit is part of a tour of Singapore, Malaysia and India.
Prince Charles and Camilla be- gan their tour in Singapore on Oct 30. After visiting Malaysia, they will tour India for 11 days. Bernama
Page 1 pic: Prince Charles and Camilla, accompanied by Minister-in-Attendance Datuk Seri S.K. Devamany, walking past a guard of honour at the KLIA tarmac.