SEPANG: The governor-general of New Zealand, Dame Cindy Kiro, has arrived in Malaysia for a four-day state visit at the invitation of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
Kiro, accompanied by her husband Dr Richard Davies and senior officials, arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 at 9.50am yesterday on a commercial flight.
On arrival, she and her delegation were greeted by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who is also minister-in-attendance, Bernama reported.
Kiro was accorded a ceremonial guard of honour mounted by the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment, led by Capt Nur Zhafran Ahamad.
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This is Kiro’s maiden visit to Malaysia and the South-East Asian region since assuming office on Oct 21, 2021.
The last state visit by a governor-general of New Zealand was by Dame Patsy Reddy on Dec 5-8, 2017.
Kiro’s visit reflects the importance of Malaysia and New Zea-land’s long-standing bilateral relations and multifaceted cooperation, which were officially elevated to the level of strategic cooperation this May.
New Zealand is Malaysia’s second largest trading partner in the Pacific region.
Total trade between the two nations reached RM6.32bil (US$1.42bil) as of June this year, an increase of 15.3% from RM5.48bil (US$1.27bil) recorded in the corresponding period in 2022.
Among the highlights of Kiro’s visit are a state banquet at Istana Negara and an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
She is also scheduled to hold a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
