SEPANG: The King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa departed for Manama today after concluding a three-day visit to this country to attend the Installation Ceremony of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th King of Malaysia.
The flight carrying Sheikh Hamad and his delegation departed from the Bunga Raya Complex of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.06 pm.
Present at the sending-off ceremony were Tunku Temenggong Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar, Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tunku Putera Johor Tunku Abu Bakar.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and Bahrain’s Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Waleed Khalifa Al Manea were also in attendance.
Before boarding the aircraft, Sheikh Hamad, accompanied by Tunku Idris, walked past a static guard of honour mounted by two officers and 24 personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment (Ceremonial Infantry) led by Captain Raja Azri Syahir Raja Mohd Zulkifli.
Yesterday, the Bahrain Ruler and the Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah graced the installation ceremony held at Istana Negara and attended the Royal Banquet in the evening.
Their presence was greatly appreciated by Sultan Ibrahim, who expressed his gratitude in his royal address at the installation ceremony.
The historic event was attended by approximately 700 guests, including the Malay Rulers, governors, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and foreign dignitaries.
While in Malaysia, Sheikh Hamad received a courtesy call from Anwar, during which they discussed efforts to enhance Malaysia-Bahrain cooperation in various fields for mutual benefit.
Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Bahrain began in 1974 and were further strengthened with the opening of the Malaysian Embassy in Bahrain in 2003 and the Bahrain Embassy in Malaysia in 2017.
