PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim said during his four-day visit to the United States, he successfully highlighted Malaysia’s stance on global issues and raised the country’s profile at the international stage.

He said the visit provided an opportunity for him to share the country’s policies and aspirations related to international relations.

“Indeed, the results were good and our international profile has increased. During meetings with my counterparts, I had the opportunity to share experiences and exchange opinions on global issues and common interests,” he said.

He said this at a press conference at the end of his New York visit, during which he joined the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and received many requests for meetings on the sidelines of the session.

“There were so many requests for bilateral meetings that we couldn’t cope with because of time constraints. I am happy Malaysia’s international profile has risen to an admirable position,” he said.

Anwar, who is also finance minister, said the visit provided an opportunity for Malaysia to highlight international issues such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Islamophobia, climate change, and problems in Myanmar.

While in New York, Anwar met leaders of Turkey, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Iraq.

Anwar said efforts to attract investment and trade to Malaysia were fruitful, with meetings with several US giants.

Anwar met representatives of 15 Fortune 500 companies, including Airbnb, Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Boeing, ConocoPhillips and Kimberly-Clark, at Harvard Club.

At the Invest Malaysia New York event attended by equity and bond capital market investors, with assets under management reaching US$40 trillion (RM187.6 trillion), Anwar declared Malaysia’s commitment to ensure an environment conducive to foreign investment.

The prime minister said he was happy he decided to attend the UNGA despite the many issues ongoing in Malaysia.

“There were domestic issues to be resolved – so many changes, such as energy transformation, industrial master plan, civil economy, the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysian Plan and also the by-elections.

“It was really heavy… Fortunately things are much better now,” he said.

Anwar also praised the staff of the Malaysian Embassy in the US and the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the UN, the Foreign Ministry, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry, and all other agencies involved in the visit. – Bernama, September 24, 2023.