2-10-2023 (KUALA LUMPUR) During her four-day state visit to Malaysia at the invitation of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the governor-general of New Zealand, Dame Cindy Kiro, held a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Monday.
The meeting, which took place at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, saw Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim spending approximately 30 minutes with Dame Cindy Kiro, who was accompanied by her husband, Dr. Richard Davies.
Several other dignitaries were present during the meeting, including Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who also served as the minister-in-attendance, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir, and Foreign Ministry’s chief secretary, Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin. Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand, Mazita Marzuki, was also in attendance.
The New Zealand delegation present at the meeting included the New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia, Pam Chong Dunn, and her deputy, Sharmila Bernau.
This visit marks Dame Cindy Kiro’s first visit to Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region since taking office on October 21, 2021. The last state visit by a governor-general of New Zealand to Malaysia occurred in December 2017 when Dame Patsy Reddy visited.
New Zealand is a significant trading partner for Malaysia in the Pacific region, with total trade between the two nations reaching RM6.32 billion (US$1.42 billion) as of June this year. This represents a 15.3% increase from the RM5.48 billion (US$1.27 billion) recorded during the same period in 2022.
