Agong grants audience to Qatar Ambassador

Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said during the one-hour meeting, Al-Sultan Abdullah also received a briefing from Fahad on Qatar's preparations for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"Al-Sultan Abdullah also accepted from the Qatari Ambassador, the presentation of replicas of all eight stadiums that have been built in Qatar for the next World Cup, where each stadium features the unique living concept of the Middle Eastern community in its design and architecture," he said in a statement.

The stadiums are the 40,000-seat Khalifa International Stadium; Al Bayt Stadium (60,000 seats); Al Janoub Stadium (40,000); Al Rayyan Stadium (40,000); Education City Stadium (40,000); Ras Abu Aboud Stadium (40,000), Al Thumama Stadium (40,000) and Lusail Stadium (80,000).

Qatar is the first Islamic and Middle Eastern country to be chosen to host the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place from late November to mid-December 2022.

Ahmad Fadil said during the meeting, Al-Sultan Abdullah also expressed his deep interest in football, and said he followed the developments of the sport closely, especially in the Asian region.

Widely regarded as a guiding light not only for Asian football but also for his contributions to world football, Al-Sultan Abdullah was elected to the FIFA Council in 2015 where he served until 2019.

His Majesty has also previously served as the vice president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), besides being a member of the ASEAN Football Association (AFF).

In terms of bilateral trade, Ahmad Fadil said Qatar was the fourth largest trading partner for Malaysia in West Asia in 2019, after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Turkey, with total trade worth RM3.43 billion.