KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today hosted a high tea in honour of visiting Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers here.

Overlooking the city skyline as seen on the 40th floor of Tower 1, both leaders spent about one hour engaging in casual conversations.

Apart from the Indonesian delegation, the high tea was also attended by Deputy Prime Ministers Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Also present were Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, as well as senior government officials and business representatives from both countries.

Earlier, Anwar and Prabowo held a bilateral meeting here and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Among the topics discussed were trade and investment, defence, capacity-building, connectivity and cooperation in ASEAN.

As close neighbours with strong ties and founding members of ASEAN, Prabowo’s visit reflects the commitment of both countries to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level for the prosperity and progress of both nations and the region at large.

Malaysia and Indonesia’s strategic ties encompass comprehensive cooperation across a wide range of areas, including politics, economy, defence, interconnectivity, education, and socio-culture.

From January to November last year, total bilateral trade between the two countries reached RM106.06 billion (USD23.2 billion), an increase from RM101.99 billion (USD22.41 billion) during the same period in 2023.

In 2023, Indonesia was Malaysia’s eighth-largest trading partner globally and the third-largest within ASEAN, with a total trade volume of RM111.21 billion (USD24.39 billion).