KUALA LUMPUR: A grand reception to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and 96th birthday was held by the British High Commission here.
The event, hosted by the British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay, was also graced by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah. Also present was Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
In his speech, Hay paid a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and her dedication to serving the people of the UK and the Commonwealth.
"The most important facet of Her Majesty's reign is her sense of duty and tireless devotion to a life of service.
"Through the seven decades of her reign, the Queen has been an important source of stability and strength for the UK. She has transcended politics, change of government, wars and pandemic," he added in his speech at the Sime Darby International Gallery on Thursday (June 16).
Hay also spoke of the close relationship between Her Majesty's government and the Malaysian government.
"The UK and Malaysia have a deep shared history which today has flourished into a modern day partnership with both countries working collaboratively across areas of mutual interest," he said.
The UK has also contributed a total of £15mil (RM80.2mil) in the last three years alone to implement economic partnership programmes with Malaysia, said Hay.
Bilateral trade between the UK and Malaysia has totalled over £5bil (RM26.7bil) with the UK seeking to grow priority sectors such as education, technology, smart cities and healthcare.
The reception was attended by over 800 guests including members of the Malaysian royalty, senior ministry representatives, youth and non-governmental organisations, diplomatic corps and business community.
