In a historic diplomatic event, Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar kicked off an official state visit to Riyadh on Tuesday - the first by a Malaysian monarch to the Kingdom since the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah’s trip in 1984.
In a statement, the Istana Negara, the king’s official residence, said the visit underscores the continuous commitment of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation across various fields, including economics, geopolitics, defense, and Islamic affairs.
The two countries have seen 12 high-level visits during the first ten months of this year alone. Saudi Arabia ranks as Malaysia’s 14th largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to 44.74 billion Malaysian ringgit ($9.79 billion), continued the statement.
Diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia date back to the early 1960s and have since been characterized by mutual respect as both countries work to deepen collaboration in political, economic, commercial, cultural, and religious spheres.
In 1961, Saudi Arabia opened its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia established its embassy in Jeddah.
In the summer of 1970, the late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud paid his first visit to Malaysia, followed in January 2006 by the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with the aim of exploring new avenues for cooperation.
In early 2017, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited Malaysia to boost economic relations between the two nations. During the visit, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Literature from the University of Malaya and an honorary Doctorate in Political Science from the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Economically, Saudi Arabia is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, with 60 percent of Malaysia’s exports to the region directed to the Kingdom.
On April 18, 2011, the two countries signed a security and intelligence cooperation agreement in Riyadh aimed at combating terrorism and organized crime.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia included Malaysia among the members of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition.
