THE Yang diPertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong will leave for the United Kingdom tomorrow and are scheduled to meet newly crowned King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.

In a statement released by Istana Negara, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will also be launching the Battersea power station in London.

“The Yang diPertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong will be on an official visit to the UK on October 10 before meeting the new King of England, King Charles III at Buckingham Palace on October 12.

“The King and the Queen will be launching the Malaysian-owned Battersea power station to mark the country’s iconic investment in London.”

“Both the King and the Queen will return on October 16,” said Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin.”

He said the audience reflected Al-Sultan Abdullah’s closeness with King Charles.

“His Majesty’s friendship with King Charles spans over four decades and they had played polo together during his teenage years in various international competitions.

“The audience is also a testimony of the close bilateral relationship between Malaysia and the United Kingdom since Malaysia’s independence 65 years ago,” said the statement.

The Battersea power station stretching 16.99ha is a property investment project involving a joint venture between Sime Darby Property, SP Setia Bhd, the Employees’ Provident Fund, and Permodalan Nasional Bhd since 2012, with a gross development value of £9 billion (RM51.53 billion).

UK was Malaysia’s 18th largest trading partner in 2021, with a total of RM17.17 billion worth of exchanges, marking a 2.9% increase compared to 2020. – October 9, 2022.