BRUSSELS, Jan 19 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived in Belgium today for a two-day working visit and to meet European Union leaders.
The aircraft carrying the Prime Minister landed at Brussels Airport at 2pm local time after Anwar concluded his working visit to the United Kingdom.
On hand to welcome the Prime Minister at the airport were Malaysian ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the EU Datuk Mohd Khalid Abbasi Abdul Razak and Belgium’s deputy chief of protocol Alain Schmitz.
During the visit, Anwar will be accompanied by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Higher Education Minister Zambry Abd Kadir and Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani.
Khalid told reporters here that a positive development on the decision to restart negotiations on the stalled Malaysia-European Union Free Trade Agreement is expected during Anwar’s visit.
Negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement began in 2010 but stalled in 2012, following Malaysia’s reservations over the EU’s palm oil procurement policies, subsidies and sustainability clauses.
A few hours after touching down in Brussels, de facto EU capital, Anwar will attend a gathering with about 200 Malaysian diaspora in Belgium and Luxembourg.
He will also hold a meeting with the president of the Muslim Council of Belgium, the country’s sole official Islamic organisation.
Making his maiden visit to Belgium since assuming office in November 2022, the Prime Minister is expected to address issues on trade, the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine crisis during his meeting with leaders of Belgium and the EU.
Tomorrow, Anwar will meet caretaker Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to discuss Malaysia-Belgium bilateral ties and intensify cooperative endeavours, as well as to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
He will then meet EU top officials, beginning with Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission.
This will be followed by a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa to discuss ways to deepen Malaysia-EU ties and regional cooperation.
Anwar will wrap up his visit by delivering a keynote speech, titled “Bridging Regions: Strengthening Southeast Asia-European Resilience”, at the College of Europe in Bruges, about 98km from here.
— Bernama
