SEPANG, Feb 16 — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived here to begin a three-day state visit to Malaysia.

The aircraft carrying the president and First Lady Elke Büdenbender, and a delegation of senior officials, businessmen and media personnel touched down at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 6.12pm today.

Steinmeier was greeted on arrival at Kompleks Bunga Raya by minister in attendance Nik Azmi Nik Ahmad, who is Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister.

He was also given a guard of honour by the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment under the command of Kapten Arifuddin Md Yusuf.

Also present were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir and German Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Peter Blomeyer.

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said the visit would provide an excellent opportunity for Malaysia and Germany to further strengthen the longstanding relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

The last state visit to Malaysia by a German President was 26 years ago in April 1997.

Germany is Malaysia’s largest trading partner from the European Union (EU). In 2022, Malaysia’s total trade with Germany increased by 10.9 per cent to RM59.87 billion compared to RM53.99 billion in 2021.

Steinmeier will attend a state welcoming ceremony at Parliament in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning and receive a courtesy call from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in Putrajaya in the afternoon.

He is also scheduled to have an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara and attend a state banquet. — Bernama