Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim returns to Malaysia after strengthening ties with Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya during landmark Africa tour.
NAIROBI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim departed for home today after the final leg of his three-country visit in Africa here, marking Malaysia’s renewed efforts to strengthen engagement with the continent.
The chartered Malaysia Airlines aircraft carrying the prime minister left the State Pavilion Terminal of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 7 pm (Nov 25, 12 am Malaysian time) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
He is scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
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Anwar was accompanied by Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (Federal Territory) Datuk Seri Zaliha Mustafa, senior government officials, as well as a delegation of business leaders.
The prime minister made a landmark visit to Ethiopia to intensify engagement with the African continent through the headquarters of the African Union in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa.
Anwar’s three-day visit started Nov 18 at the “Horn of Africa” – the first for a Malaysian prime minister – which was also to reciprocate Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali’s visit to Malaysia in October last year.
From Addis Ababa, he travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a working visit from Nov 20 to 23 to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit, before heading to Nairobi, Kenya, from Nov 23 to 24.
During his official visit to Nairobi, both Malaysia and Kenya agreed to elevate and renew their long-standing bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, marking a historic milestone in the two nations’ 60-year diplomatic ties.
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, expanding Kenyan exports to Malaysia and vice versa, and deepening cooperation in digital technology and high-tech manufacturing.
Kenya’s major exports to Malaysia include tea, coffee, flowers, avocados, titanium, hides and beef, while Malaysian exports to Kenya largely comprise edible oils and fats, chemical products, electronics, agricultural chemicals and rubber. – Bernama
