26 February 2017•Update: 27 February 2017
By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Saudi Arabia’s king arrived in Malaysia Sunday to begin a four-day official visit together with a 600-strong entourage.
This is the maiden visit by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Malaysia, the first country of his planned tour of the Asian region, followed by Indonesia on Wednesday and then Japan.
The king landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 11 a.m. (0300GMT) to be greeted by Prime Minister Najib Razak and Cabinet ministers.
Salman was accompanied by a delegation including members of the royal household and Cabinet ministers. They were ferried by over 100 vehicles in a heavily guarded convoy, forcing several major roads in the capital Kuala Lumpur to be closed for over three hours.
Salman began his official visit with a state welcome at Parliament Square, where he was greeted by Malaysian King Sultan Muhammad V.
On Monday, Salman is scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with Razak and attend a delegation meeting in the administrative capital Putrajaya, where both leaders will witness an exchange of business memorandums between both countries.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Salman and Razak are expected to discuss the progress of bilateral cooperation in various sectors as well as exchange views on regional issues.
Matters related to the Hajj and the annual quota of Malaysian pilgrims are high on the agenda, besides strengthening cooperation in several related areas.
After the meeting, Salman will travel to the country's oldest post-secondary education center, University Malaya, to receive an honorary doctorate. On Tuesday, the International Islamic University of Malaysia will also give Salman an honorary doctorate and a lifetime achievement award.
The last state visit by a Saudi king to Malaysia was in 2006 by the late King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Saud. The late King Faisal Abdulaziz Al-Saud made a state visit to Malaysia in 1970.
