Malaysian PM arrives today for official visit

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is due to arrive in the Philippines today for a two-day official visit, Malacañang announced yesterday.

President Marcos will officially welcome today the visiting Malaysian leader at Malacañang.

Afterwards, the two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting, where they are expected to discuss areas of mutual concern such as political, security and economic cooperation, as well as people-to-people ties, according to a statement from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

They are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues.

The President will host a dinner banquet for Anwar and his delegation.

Anwar, who was named 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, is the first head of government to visit the Philippines under the Marcos administration.

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia said this is Anwar’s maiden visit to the Philippines since becoming the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Included in his retinue were his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Foreign Minister Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Minister of Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Datuk Ewon Benedick, among other officials.

Based on reports, the Philippines was Malaysia’s 15th largest trading partner globally and the fifth largest among member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2022, with total trade amounting to RM41.45 billion ($9.42 billion), an increase of 20.1 percent compared to the recorded value in 2021.

In November last year, Marcos said he was looking forward to working with the new Malaysian leader, especially as the Southeast Asian region faces various challenges.

Marcos, in a previous statement, referred to the 75-year-old Anwar as a “good friend.”

The President earlier said he expects Anwar’s leadership to bring stability not just in Malaysia but in the entire region.