SEPANG, May 21 — The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Executive Council chairman, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived here tonight to begin his four-day special visit to Malaysia.

The Crown Prince arrived at Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here at 8.42pm, and was officially welcomed by Pahang Regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, along with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Sheikh Khaled was then escorted through the guard of honour comprising of the Malaysian Army 1st Royal Ranger Regiment, which is led by Capt Muhammad Shafiq Najmi Mazlan.

His Highness’ visit is his first to Malaysia since his appointment as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Executive Council chairman on March 29.

The special visit is expected to strengthen the longstanding good relations between Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that have been upgraded to a Strategic Partnership on Sept 27, 2022.

Sheikh Khaled is scheduled to pay a courtesy call to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow (May 22) and exchange views on various issues of mutual interest, including bilateral, regional and international relations during their meeting.

On the third day (May 23), His Highness will have an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara.

The UAE is Malaysia’s second largest trading partner and export destination, as well as the second largest import destination in the West Asia region.

In 2022, Malaysia’s total trade with the UAE rose by 73.5 per cent to RM38.73 billion from RM22.33 billion the year before. — Bernama