Anwar, Dutch PM Rutte meet for bilateral talks in Putrajaya
01 Nov 2023 06:28pm
Anwar (right) with Rutte during a meeting at Seri Perdana on Wednesday.
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Rutte arrived in Malaysia yesterday for a two-day working visit, his second to this country after his maiden trip in 2014.
Anwar said the four-eyed meeting was an important platform for holding talks and strengthening bilateral ties between Malaysia and the Netherlands.
"This meeting also enabled us to exchange views on related regional and international issues and also those of mutual interests,” Anwar said in a post on his official Facebook after the meeting.
Among the issues discussed were the oil palm industry, cooperation in digital and artificial intelligence fields and semiconductor technology, which the two countries had plenty to share, he said.
"It is hoped that Malaysia-Netherlands ties would continue to improve and strengthen, Insya-Allah," he said.
After the meeting, Anwar hosted Rutte to lunch at the prime minister's official residence.
In 2022, the Netherlands was Malaysia's 14th largest trading partner and the second biggest in the European Union (EU), with a total trade of RM48.04 billion (US$10.93 billion), a 33.4 per cent increase over the RM36.01 billion (US$8.68 billion) in 2021.
The Netherlands is also the biggest importer of Malaysian palm oil among EU countries, with a total of 732,324.54 tonnes. - BERNAMA
