TOKYO: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has arrived here for a three-day working visit, his first overseas trip since Pakatan Harapan’s May victory in the 14th General Election.
Dr Mahathir is accompanied by Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their plane landed at Haneda International Airport here at 4.55pm.
On hand to welcome the prime minister at the airport was Malaysian Ambassador to Japan Datuk Ahmad Izlan Idris; Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii; Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Makio Miyagawa and wife Yuko Miyagawa; Chief of Protocol Akira Sugiyama; and Shigeki Takizaki, director-general of the Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr Mahathir is here to attend the 24th International Conference on the Future of Asia (Nikkei Conference) at the invitation of Nikkei Incorporated, where he will deliver a keynote address.
His itinerary includes a dinner with Malaysians in Japan tonight, dialogues with Japan’s media and elected representatives, and a courtesy call on Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Dr Mahathir will also have a dialogue with leaders of several Japanese business entities, including the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan External Trade Organisation, and Japan-Malaysia Economic Association.
At a briefing to Malaysian media yesterday, Ahmad Izlan said the prime minister’s visit will enable Malaysia to highlight its current policies towards Japan and other countries in the region, especially related to foreign investments and trade.
He said Dr Mahathir will have the opportunity to share Malaysia’s aspirations and future plans with government representatives, business leaders and academicians from the region.