ABU DHABI, Sept 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today had an audience with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The 30-minute audience took place at the President's Residence in Abu Dhabi.

This was the first meeting between the two leaders since Sheikh Mohamed’s appointment as the new President of the UAE on May 14.

Ismail Sabri arrived in the capital yesterday morning to undertake a four-day working visit to UAE, the second since he became the prime minister in August, 2021.

According to officials, both leaders discussed ways to strengthen 40 years of bilateral ties between both countries as well as explore new areas of cooperation, such as food security, digitalisation in education, and renewable energy. On Tuesday, the prime minister is scheduled to witness the exchange of a memorandum of understanding between Ranhill Utilities and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – MASDAR.

In 2021, the UAE was Malaysia's largest trading partner, second-largest export destination, and second-largest import source among West Asian countries.

For the year 2021, Malaysia's total trade with the UAE increased by 7.9 per cent to RM22.29 billion from RM20.65 billion in 2020. — Bernama