SEPANG: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is on a series of visits to three countries, starting with Italy, followed by France and Brazil.

The chartered Malaysia Airlines flight carrying the Prime Minister and his delegation departed KL International Airport at 2.15pm yesterday.

His three-day official trip to Italy is part of Malaysia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and promote economic cooperation at the global level.

The visits to the major economic hubs of Rome, Paris and Rio de Janeiro aim to strengthen Malaysia’s diplomatic ties and trade relations with the respective nations, Bernama reported.

The three markets collectively recorded bilateral trade valued at RM50.91bil last year.

Anwar is accompanied by a business delegation comprising representatives from major Malaysian corporations and innovative enterprises, including PETRONAS, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Maybank, FGV, YTL Power, and Sunway.

The Prime Minister's inaugural visit to Italy is at the invitation of his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni.

Malaysian Ambassador to Italy Datuk Zahid Rastam said the visit was expected to further strengthen bilateral relations across a wide range of sectors. 

In Rome, Anwar will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.

In Paris, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron.

Their discussions will focus on trade, technology and education sectors.

Besides the roundtable with France’s industry giants, Anwar will engage with local Muslim leaders, meet Malaysian citizens in France and deliver a public lecture at Sorbonne University on Friday.

After Paris, Anwar will head to Rio de Janeiro to attend the 17th BRICS Summit on the invitation of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Malaysia’s role as a BRICS Partner Country and Asean Chair for 2025 will emphasise the importance of multilateralism based on law, governance of artificial intelligence, climate action and global health, representing the aspirations of over 650 million Asean citizens.

Anwar will attend the BRICS Summit as a partner country in the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, among others.