Anwar leaves for Rome to begin week-long working trip in Italy, France and Brazil

SEPANG: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has left for Italy on the first leg of his week-long visit which includes Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

The Italian visit, Anwar’s first as Prime Minister, is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations with the European nation.

The Prime Minister and his entourage left via the Bukit Raya Complex in Sepang in a chartered flight.

Anwar is set to meet captains of industry from 36 Italian firms, including multinational companies such as Leonardo SpA, STMicroelectronics and Ferrero during his maiden working visit.

Malaysian Ambassador to Italy Datuk Zahid Rastam said the meeting will take place during the Malaysia-Italy Economic Partnership Roundtable on July 2.

“In addition to the 36 Italian companies and several industry associations here, Malaysian companies accompanying the Prime Minister will also be in attendance,” he said in a virtual briefing ahead of the three-day working visit.

Leonardo specialises in aerospace, defence and security, STMicroelectronics is a semiconductor company, while Ferrero is one of the world’s largest sweet-packaged food companies.

All three MNCs have a significant presence in Malaysia.

Italy is the third-largest national economy in the European Union (EU) and the world’s eighth-largest by gross domestic product (GDP).

Its economy accounts for about 12 per cent of the EU’s GDP.

Besides the business meeting, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, is also set to discuss bilateral cooperation on trade, investment, defence, agro-commodity and digital economy with his counterpart Giorgia Meloni.

Anwar’s visit is at the invitation of Meloni.

They are also expected to touch on the Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement (MEUFTA).

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by five Cabinet ministers – Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin, and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Also part of the delegation is Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.