RIYADH, Oct 21 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has departed for Istanbul, Turkiye to hold a meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel.

He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir and Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan.

The special aircraft with the prime minister onboard left Raja Khalid International Airport at 6.15pm local time (11.15pm Malaysian time) headed for Istanbul International Airport.

After his meeting with President Erdogan, Anwar is scheduled to travel to Cairo, Egypt tomorrow to meet Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The prime minister said yesterday that he would be meeting with El-Sisi to discuss the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow the channelling of food, water and medicines to Palestine. The Rafah crossing is located between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

Meanwhile, Wisma Putra said in a statement that both working visits reflected Malaysia’s undivided commitment towards the Palestinian issue, especially in reducing the suffering faced by Palestinians as a result of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

Anwar arrived in Riyadh on Thursday on a working visit to Saudi Arabia, including the attend the Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit.

He delivered a speech highlighting the current Palestinian-Israel conflict at the first-ever summit between Asean-GCC leaders held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

GCC is a political and economic bloc formed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

Asean and GCC formed ties in 1990 after the Gulf nations indicated the intention to form official ties with the region.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, held a meeting with Aramco president and chief executive officer Amin H Nasser, followed by several meetings with Saudi Arabian firms and captains of industry.

He also was granted an audience with the Saudi Arabian Prime Minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman based on a personal invitation.

Saudi Arabia is Malaysia’s largest trading partner among West Asian countries, with a two-way trade value of US$10.26 billion (RM48.9 billion) recorded in 2022. — Bernama