King has luncheon with foreign envoys to strengthen bilateral relations

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By Bernama - January 22, 2020 @ 9:27pm

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The inaugural Royal Luncheon with Foreign Envoys programme held at Istana Negara today was an initiative taken by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to fete and get up close and personal with foreign envoys in Malaysia.

Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara, Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, said today’s programme involved the first group of ambassadors and High Commissioners from 10 countries, selected based on seniority or their date of appointment as foreign envoys to Malaysia.

The programme will be held on a monthly basis to give the opportunity to Al-Sultan Abdullah to contribute to the betterment of bilateral ties between Malaysia and other countries, while at the same time helping promote Visit Malaysia 2020, he said.

“More importantly, the programme is intended for His Majesty to exchange his views and ideas on current issues with the foreign envoys, especially now that Malaysia will be hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in November,” he told reporters here, today.

Both Al-Sultan Abdullah and the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah graced the programme today.

Also present were Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and his wife, as well as the ministry’s senior officials.

The 10 ambassadors and High Commissioners feted at the programme today were Prof Dr Qaley Allahverdiyev of Azerbaijan, Constantin Volodea Nistor (Romania), Carlos Isauro Felix Corona (Mexico), Datuk Paduka Alaihuddin Mohd Taha (Brunei), Vanu Gopala Menon (Singapore), Md Shahidul Islam (Bangladesh), Nasreddine Rimouche (Algeria), Attila Kali (Hungary), Walubita Imakando (Zambia) and Houmdaophone Soukhaseum (Laos).

Ahmad Fadil said apart from the luncheon with foreign envoys, Al-Sultan Abdullah had also expressed his intention to hold a similar monthly programme with senior officers of government ministries, as well as the departments and agencies under their purview.

The first of such programmes is scheduled for Jan 30 with senior officers from the Prime Minister’s Department, the Finance Ministry, and the Public Service Department, he said.

Meanwhile, Allahverdiyev said today’s programme was a very good initiative by the King to get closer and exchange views with all the ambassadors and High Commissioners so as to forge closer ties between the countries.

“I think everybody was happy today because we could not only speak about our problems, but also express our views about your country (Malaysia), about our countries, our relations and our future. It was very nice and we felt very grateful,” he told reporters after the programme. – Bernama