Agong on a six-day special visit to Doha, Qatar

KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah departed for Doha, Qatar today to make a six-day special visit.

Comptroller of the Istana Negara Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the special visit is made at the personal invitation of the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in conjunction with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

"Apart from the invitation to watch the semi-final and final matches of the 22nd FIFA World Cup, His Majesty is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Sheikh Tamim.

"His Majesty is also scheduled to grant an audience to several Qatari leaders and attend a gathering with the Malaysian diaspora in Qatar during the special visit," he said in a statement here today.

Ahmad Fadil said Al-Sultan Abdullah is expected to return home on Dec 19.

Sheikh Tamim's personal invitation was conveyed by Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani to Al-Sultan Abdullah during an audience at Istana Negara on Aug 12.

Al-Sultan Abdullah is a member of the FIFA Executive Committee from 2015 to 2019. He resigned from the post after taking his oath of office as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong in early January 2019 in line with Articles 34(2), 32(3) and 32(4) of the Federal Constitution.

-- BERNAMA