Agong, queen to make special visit to London

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will be on a special visit to London from tomorrow until Oct 16.

Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said during the visit, their Majesties will have an audience with Britain’s King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on Oct 12. 

He said the audience reflected Sultan Abdullah's closeness with King Charles.

"His Majesty’s friendship with King Charles spans over four decades. They had played polo together during his teenage years in various international competitions.

"The audience is also a testimony of the close bilateral relationship between Malaysia and the UK since Malaysia's independence 65 years ago," Fadil said in a statement today.

Also on Oct 12, Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah are scheduled to officiate the opening of the Battersea Power Station, Malaysia’s iconic project in London.
 
The 16.99-hectare real estate project is a joint venture between Sime Darby Property, SP Setia Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund and Permodalan Nasional Bhd which began in 2012 with a gross development value of RM51.53 billion.

Fadil said the Agong and Raja Permaisuri are scheduled to end the special visit and depart for Malaysia on Oct 16.

In terms of bilateral relations, the UK was Malaysia's 18th largest trading partner in 2021 with total trade between the two countries recorded at RM17.17 billion, an increase of 2.9% compared to 2020.

The value of Malaysian exports to the UK last year was RM9.78 billion while the value of imports from the UK amounted to RM7.39 billion.