KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Saturday (March 6) departed for official visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), only his second official trip abroad since assuming office on March 1 last year.
His only official overseas trip before this was to Indonesia on Feb 4 and 5, when he met President Joko Widodo.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin is making a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he will meet King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He will be performing the umrah pilgrimage to Mecca and will also visit Madinah, Islam's second holiest city, before the meetings with the Saudi ruler.
PM Muhyiddin, in his Facebook, said the visit was at the invitation of King Salman.
He will from Tuesday (March 9) be visiting the UAE, for an unspecified number of days.
There, Mr Muhyiddin will meeting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan, and UAE Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are two of the seven kingdoms of the UAE.
Mr Muhyiddin is accompanied by a small delegation that includes Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin went on an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Feb 18, where he said the two countries have finalised talks to establish a high-level strategic committee to hold regular consultations on issues of mutual interest, New Straits Times daily reported.
Mr Hishammuddin went on a working visit to the UAE on Feb 8.
PM Muhyiddin said during his visit to Saudi Arabia, he will be discussing various efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and explore new cooperation in trade, investment and Islamic affairs, including matters on the haj quota and umrah pilgrimage, Bernama news agency reported.
In the UAE, the Malaysian Prime Minister is set to discuss issues such as the setting up of an international food security coalition to boost resilience in the global food supply chains and cooperation in the halal food industry, Bernama said.
Malaysia's foreign ministry said that the delegation will be subjected to to strict Covid-19 prevention protocols as agreed with both the Saudi and UAE authorities.
