KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will undertake an official visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from May 15 to 19.

The visit is at the invitation of President Sadyr Japarov of the Kyrgyz Republic, President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

The prime minister is leaving from Doha, Qatar, where he is undertaking an official visit at the invitation of the Amir of the State of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Accompanying him on the Central Asian visit are Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz; Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.

Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, will join the delegation in Kyrgyzstan.

In the Kyrgyz Republic, the prime minister will be received in a full state welcoming ceremony before meeting with President Japarov to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of concern to both countries.

At the request of the Kyrgyz government, the prime minister will also visit the indigenous community’s craft and wares exhibit at Ala Archa National Park.

Malaysia-Kyrgyz total trade registered at RM162.3 million in 2023, a 312.6 per cent increase compared with 2022. Malaysia exported RM161.1 million worth of goods to the Kyrgyz Republic in 2023 and imported RM1.22 million worth of electrical and electronic products, as well as chemical and chemical products.

In Kazakhstan, where President Tokayev will host the prime minister, Anwar is expected to have a Kazakhstan-Malaysia Investment Roundtable meeting with a number of Kazakhstan industries. The prime minister will meet with President Tokayev on May 17, to discuss matters of importance to both countries and exchange views on regional and international issues.

Malaysia’s total trade with Kazakhstan in 2023 stood at RM474.5 million, with RM465.6 million being exports of Malaysian goods to Kazakhstan and RM8.9 million being the value of imports from Kazakhstan.

In Uzbekistan, the prime minister is scheduled to meet President Mirziyoyev for a bilateral meeting to discuss relations between Malaysia and Uzbekistan, as well as explore potential areas of cooperation.

The prime minister will then visit the Imam Hazrati Complex, where the original manuscript of the Caliph Usman Quran (Mashaf Uthmani) — the oldest in the world — is kept and displayed.

From Tashkent, the prime minister will travel to Samarkand on May 18, where he is expected to address the High-Level Uzbekistan-Malaysian Business Forum held at the Silk Road Samarkand Tourism Complex.

The forum, hosted by Uzbekistan, will also be attended by Prime Minister Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov.

In 2023, Malaysia-Uzbekistan’s total trade was RM451.1 million with exports to Uzbekistan amounting to RM449 million and imports amounting to RM1.99 million. — Bernama