Saudi Crown Prince to welcome PM Muhyiddin at airport

"It was not in the original itinerary. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has made the decision himself," Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein told Malaysian media, here.

"The whole airport will be closed as HRH the Crown Prince wants to welcome the Prime Minister there," said Hishammuddin.

Muhyiddin Yassin is entering the third day of his four-day official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Muhyiddin is scheduledto arrive at the international airport at 6.30 pm Monday (11.30 pm Monday in Malaysia).

He will fly in from Madinah after visiting the tomb of Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Nabawi Mosque.

The prime minister who arrived in this country Saturday for an official visit, landed in Makkah first to perform the Umrah and was accorded the rare privilege of entering the Kaabah.

The official visit is at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, aimed at strengthening traditional areas of cooperation and forging greater partnership in new areas, such as new technology and innovation, as well as energy collaboration.

Hishammuddin said the fact that Saudi Arabia invited the prime minister for the visit is a great success considering "our bilateral relationship was not at the level that we wanted in the last few years".

Hishammuddin did not further elaborate on what led to such a situation, but it was widely reported by the media that this had something to do with Kuala Lumpur Summit, the establishment of the King Salman Centre for International Peace and Malaysia’s decision to pull out its troops from Saudi Arabia in the past years.

"The reset started a year ago. A lot of work has been done and the biggest challenge is to build trust and sincerity.

"Moving forward, we need to maintain the momentum...success comes from the fact that we are being received by Saudi Arabia," said the foreign minister.

He said Kuala Lumpur could not ignore the importance of having good Putrajaya-Riyadh ties.

Muhyiddin is scheduled to meet King Salman virtually from the Al-Yamamah Palace, here, tomorrow.

Hishammuddin said the 85-year-old King Salman had never met foreign leaders face-to-face since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Therefore, having a virtual meeting is already considered extraordinary,” Hishammuddin said.

The prime minister will also be meeting Prince Mohammed, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, at the palace before concluding the official visit.