Najib summarises four main benefits of King Salman's visit to Malaysia

The maiden visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will not only firm up Kuala Lumpur-Riyadh ties but will give numerous direct benefits to the people.

Summarising the four-day visit, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the preparedness of the Saudi Arabian Government to increase three-fold the scholarships for Malaysian students from next year was among four important issues as a result of the visit.

"The scholarship means more students will be able to further their studies at renowned universities there and this complements and boosts the RM4.3 billion government allocation for scholarships under the 2017 Budget," he said in his latest entry on najibrazak.com.

King Salman's state visit to Malaysia was at the invitation of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V, and was his first visit to an Islamic nation in South East Asia since he ascended the throne in 2015.

In addition, Najib regarded the visit as paving the way to Malaysia's request for an increase in haj quota and two Malaysian haj pilgrim centres in Makkah and Madinah.