Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to depart for Johannesburg, South Africa today to lead the Malaysian delegation to the G20 Leaders' Summit.
Anwar is attending the summit in Malaysia's capacity as ASEAN 2025 Chair and at the invitation of South African President, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa who is also the G20 2025 President.
During the visit, he is expected to present ASEAN's perspective in two sessions of the conference.
Wisma Putra in a statement explained that the Prime Minister will emphasize ASEAN's perspective in both sessions of the summit.
Anwar is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Ramaphosa to continue and review discussions initiated during Ramaphosa's official visit to Malaysia last month, in conjunction with the 47th ASEAN Summit.
The two leaders are expected to discuss key areas of cooperation including trade and investment, halal industry, palm oil, education and capacity building, as well as exploring new opportunities to strengthen bilateral relations.
In addition, Anwar will receive a courtesy call from Botswana's Vice President, Ndaba Nkosinathi Gaolathe to discuss issues of mutual interest towards strengthening bilateral relations, including cooperation in Botswana's economic transformation programme.
He is also expected to meet with counterparts from G20 member states and invited countries at the summit.
Meanwhile, Anwar is scheduled to meet with leaders of the South African Muslim community and key industry players at a business forum, as well as the Malaysian diaspora at a dinner in Johannesburg.
Malaysian High Commissioner to South Africa, Datuk Yubazlan Yusof, announced that Anwar will explore trade and supply chain opportunities during his maiden visit to the country.
The initiative is part of efforts to strengthen bilateral trade which declined to $0.85 billion from January to August this year, compared to $1.71 billion in 2024.
The G20 under the leadership of South Africa chose the theme of ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’, in line with Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 Chairmanship theme, ‘Inclusion and Sustainability’ which emphasises the importance of equitable and sustainable development for a highly competitive economy.
Anwar’s presence in the country will be accompanied by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Batu Uban State Assemblyman (ADUN), Kumaresan, Machang Bubuk Assemblyman, Lee Khai Loon, senior government officials and a delegation of the country’s top business leaders.
