Australian PM Tony Abbott accorded official welcome

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is here on his inaugural visit since his appointment, was accorded an official welcome at the Dataran Perdana, here today.

The premier, who is on a one-day official visit, was greeted by his Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak upon arrival at 10.04 am, before the national anthems of both countries were played.

Abbott then inspected a guard-of-honour mounted by 104 officers and men from the 1st Batallion of the Royal Malay Regiment.

Also present at the ceremony were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa, other cabinet ministers, foreign diplomats and senior government officials.

Abbott and Najib then proceeded for a four-eyed meeting and a closed-door delegation meeting to discuss the existing cooperation and matters of interest to both nations.

The ongoing mutual cooperation between both countries in relation to the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and MH17 incidents was also expected to be among the main topic of interest for discussion between both premiers.

In view of the matter, both leaders were also scheduled to meet with the Malaysian personnel who were involved in the MH370 and MH17 search operations to express appreciation for the work that they have done.

Australia was among 25 other countries that accepted Malaysia's request to assist in the search for the missing MH370 flight which was believed to have 'ended' its flight path in the southern Indian Ocean adjacent to Perth.

Najib, during his visit to Perth in April, said that Australia had proved itself as 'a friend in need is a friend indeed' to Malaysia, and prompted him to thank the country, while describing it as an 'invaluable friend' to Malaysia.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Australia in 1957, the two countries have enjoyed excellent and vibrant relations, buoyed by substantive cooperation, notably in the areas of trade and investment, education, defence, security and people-to-people links.