RIYADH: Malaysia will be the first destination for King Salman on his Asian tour, which is set to begin on Sunday.
Other stops on the tour include Indonesia, China, the Maldives and Japan.
Zainol Rahim Zainuddin, Malaysia’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News his government is deeply honored to receive King Salman at Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia date back to the late 1950s.
Zainuddin recalled that Malaysian Premier Mohamed Najib Abdul Razak visited the Kingdom in March last year, and met with King Salman and senior government officials.
“The close brotherly relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have been longstanding since we established relations 60 years ago in 1957, when Malaysia gained its independence. Saudi Arabia was among the first countries that recognized Malaysia’s independence,” Zainuddin said.
“There are avenues to increase economic cooperation particularly in trade and investment,” he added.
The ambassador said extensive arrangements have been made in his country to receive the monarch in Malaysia.
King Salman is slated to meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, who will greet him with traditional ceremonies. He will also hold talks with Abdul Razak, and meet businesspeople in the country.
“We expect to have two memoranda of understanding on economic cooperation and higher education,” the ambassador said.
He said King Salman’s visit to Malaysia is a reminder of the close relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
“Despite the formal relations that go back 60 years ago, relations between the people of both countries go as far back as the 15th century with the travel of Arab traders to our part of the world, and bringing along with them the spread of Islam.”
Zainuddin said Malaysia was grateful to King Salman for reinstating the quota for Haj pilgrims from Malaysia. Some 27,000 pilgrims come annually from Malaysia and that will be increased to 30,000, he noted.
Malaysia will be the guest of honor at the Riyadh International Book Fair 2017, which will be opened under the patronage of King Salman on March 8.
Zainuddin said a team from Malaysia is currently working in Saudi Arabia to help local authorities as to how best they could project Malaysia well at the forthcoming show.
Around 15 publishers from Malaysia will exhibit their products and some 50 representatives from publishing houses will attend the show.
King Salman to begin Asian tour in Malaysia
King Salman to begin Asian tour in Malaysia
KSrelief transfers Gaza girl to Jordan for cancer treatment
- Roza Al-Dreimli in Jordan because Israel destroyed Gaza hospitals
- Under assessment, monitoring at the King Hussein Cancer Center
AMMAN: A cancer-stricken Palestinian girl from Gaza is now undergoing clinical observation prior to treatment at a specialist hospital in Jordan, thanks to Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSrelief.
Roza Al-Dreimli was transported to Amman from the Gaza Strip through the initiative of KSrelief, as a part of Saudi Arabia’s continued medical support for Palestinians, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
Al-Dreimli was prioritized because assessments indicated the need for advanced treatment of cancerous cells at the base of her brain. She is at the King Hussein Cancer Center, and being treated by a team of pediatricians.
She is currently undergoing “intensive clinical monitoring” to “ensure control of the condition, and prevent any potential neurological or visual complications resulting from the tumor’s location,” the SPA reported.
Al-Dreimli’s family expressed profound gratitude for KSrelief’s swift intervention, and hoped the specialized care would ensure a full recovery.
Such specialized care is currently unavailable in the Gaza Strip because of Israel’s alleged genocidal destruction of hospitals and killing of medical workers since Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel has systematically destroyed homes and commercial buildings and infrastructure in the Palestinian enclave, killing over 70,000 Palestinians, many of them unarmed men, women and children, and injuring more than 170,000.
Tel Aviv has stated that its actions were in retaliation to a raid by Hamas of Israeli border villages, during which the militant group reportedly killed more than 1,200 people and took 254 hostages.
