MANILA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has arrived in Manila, Philippines, to lead the Malaysian delegation at the 49th Asean Summit and Related Summits, which begin tomorrow and run until Nov 17.
The aircraft carrying Anwar and his delegation landed at Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 8pm.
Anwar was accompanied by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and was welcomed by Philippine Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” C. Remulla Jr.
Also present were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Amran Mohamed Zin and Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Datuk Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Anthony.
The Malaysian delegation also includes Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
“Malaysia will continue to play an active role in strengthening regional ties, fostering mutual understanding and expanding cooperation for the sake of peace, stability and shared prosperity.
I seek everyone’s prayers that the journey and all engagements will go smoothly, and that this mission will yield meaningful outcomes for Malaysia and the entire Asean region,” Anwar wrote in a Facebook post.
Tomorrow, Anwar is scheduled to attend the 49th Asean Summit, comprising the Plenary and Retreat Sessions, as well as three engagement sessions with the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) and Asean youth representatives.
He is also scheduled to attend four summits with dialogue partners: the 29th Asean-China Summit, 16th Asean-United Nations Summit, sixth Asean-Australia Summit and 27th Asean-Republic of Korea Summit.
Besides bilateral meetings with several counterparts from Asean member states, the 12th Asean-United States Special Summit will also be among the key events.
Malaysia’s participation in this summit is important in safeguarding the country’s interests while reinforcing its active role in shaping Asean’s future direction.
The high-level engagement will also allow Malaysia to contribute to regional discussions and policymaking across political and security, economic, and socio-cultural areas.