KUALA LUMPUR:Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia after a five-day special visit to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara, Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the King and his delegation would undergo COVID-19 screening before returning home and upon arriving at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

"Al-Sultan Abdullah will then undergo self-quarantine as stipulated by the Health Ministry, while the delegation will be quarantined at locations determined by the ministry," he said in a statement, here, today.

Ahmad Fadil said Al-Sultan Abdullah had expressed satisfaction with the visit made at the invitation of the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan.

"Al-Sultan Abdullah also expressed appreciation for the Crown Prince and UAE government on the special reception given during the special visit, including bearing all the logistics costs for His Majesty and the delegation," he added.

Ahmad Fadil said during the visit, Al-Sultan Abdullah granted an audience to UAE's Minister of Health and Prevention, Dr Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owai and visited the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Masdar City.

During the audience, Al-Sultan Abdullah expressed his appreciation to the UAE government for its intention to contribute COVID-19 vaccine for purposes that include conducting clinical research in Malaysia.

The visit to ADNOC and Masdar City that followed gave very useful exposure, particularly in identifying cooperation and collaborations in the upstream, downstream, petrochemical, oil refinery and renewable energy sectors, he said.

"The presence of Sheikh Mohamed when Al-Sultan Abdullah arrived at the Abu Dhabi airport and visits made during the trip also clearly shows the closeness of the two leaders that have been forged since over 40 years ago.

"The visit by Al-Sultan Abdullah also portrays the strong bilateral relations between the two countries, besides strengthening the close relationship already established between the two leaders," he added.

The special visit is the third to the UAE for Al-Sultan Abdullah since being installed as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. His Majesty's first visit to UAE was from June 12 to 15, 2019 and the second, a personal one and at the invitation of Sheikh Mohamed, was from Nov 29 to Dec 3, 2019.

Sheikh Mohamed had made a special visit to Malaysia at the invitation of Al-Sultan Abdullah in conjunction with His Majesty's installation as Yang di-Pertuan Agong on July 30, 2019.

The same year, UAE was Malaysia's biggest trading partner and export and import source in the West Asia region with the bilateral trade worth USD6.42 billion.

-- BERNAMA