MOSCOW: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, arrived here today for a six-day state visit to Russia.
The special aircraft carrying His Majesty touched down at the Vnukovo2 International Airport at 2.20pm local time (7.20pm Malaysia).
Sultan Ibrahim was received upon arrival by Russian Science and Higher Education Minister Valery Falkov and Russian Foreign Ministry State Protocol Department acting director Georgiy Kuznetsov.
Present to welcome His Majesty at the airport were Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin and Russian ambassador to Malaysia Nayl Latypov.
Also present were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, as the minister-in-attendance, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin and Malaysian ambassador to Russia Datuk Cheong Loon Lai.
The national anthems of both nations were played and His Majesty then walked past a guard of honour, accompanied by Falkov and Kuznetsov, before being greeted by dignitaries from both Malaysia and Russia.
After observing the ceremonial march-out of the guard of honour, which signified the conclusion of the ceremony, Sultan Ibrahim departed for his hotel in Moscow.
At the hotel, His Majesty was greeted by the home-based staff of the Malaysian embassy and their family members as well as 30 Malaysian students.
During the visit, Sultan Ibrahim will be accorded a state welcome ceremony at the Kremlin before holding an official meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attending a state banquet hosted by the president.
His Majesty will also visit the Central Scientific Research Automobile and Automotive Engines Institute (NAMI) as well as the Tochka Kipeniya Technology and Innovation Hub.
After concluding his programme in Moscow, His Majesty will travel to Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan for the second segment of the state visit.
Sultan Ibrahim, who ascended the federal throne on Jan 31, 2024, is making his maiden state visit to Russia at the invitation of Putin.
This visit has been described as historic as it is the first state visit by a Malaysian Head of State to Russia since diplomatic relations were established in 1967.
This is the fourth state visit conducted by Sultan Ibrahim after Singapore, China and Brunei.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
