KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is committed to further enhancing its friendship and bilateral relationship with Australia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar said Malaysia and Australia have a close relationship and that he and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have met several times.

These included meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia and most recently at the 30th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Fransisco, the United States.

"I welcome the Australian delegation (to Malaysia's Parliament) and I assure you that Malaysia remains committed as a friend and to enhancing the bilateral relationship with Australia," he said before the Minister's Question Time session in the Dewan Rakyat, here today.

Earlier, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul welcomed the delegation of Australian Parliamentarians, led by Member of Parliament Shayne Neumann, the Federal Member for Blair, Queensland, who is also the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

Johari also expressed his hope that the visit would further strengthen bilateral ties between the Parliaments of the two countries.

-- BERNAMA