Norway crown prince and crown princess accorded grand welcome

KUALA LUMPUR: Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway were accorded an official welcome at Dataran Perdana in  Putrajaya  when  they  arrived  to  begin a three-day visit to Malaysia.

ROYAL VISITORS: Najib welcomes Haakon (second left) and Mette-Marit to his office in Putrajaya. At right is Rosmah.— Bernama photo

They were greeted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, at the square.

Prince Haakon later inspected a guard-of-honour  mounted by 103 officers and men of the first battalion Royal Malay Regiment led by Major Mohamad Abdullah.

Najib and Rosmah then had an audience with the royal couple at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The royal couple then went to the Istana Negara here for an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Nur Zahirah.

Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit arrived in the federal capital by road after flying in to Singapore by a commercial flight.

They were welcomed by Deputy Foreign Minister A Kohilan Pillay and Deputy Natural Resources and Environment  Minister  Tan  Sri  Joseph  Kurup, who are the ministers-in-attendance, as they arrived at their hotel here.

The royal couple were accompanied by a 45-member delegation which included  Trade and Industry Minister Trond Giske, Deputy Foreign Minister Erik Lahnstein, Deputy Fisheries and Coastal Affairs Minister Vidar Ulriksen and Deputy Petroleum and Energy Minister  Robin Martin Kass.

Najib will play host to Prince Haakon at a banquet at Sri Perdana, official residence of the prime minister, in Putrajaya, tonight.

Wisma Putra said Prince Haakon was making the visit, his first to Malaysia, on behalf of his father, King Harald V.

“This visit will provide the impetus to enhance bilateral relations since there has been a lack of high-level visits between the two countries,” Wisma Putra said in a statement.

Prince Haakon will officiate at a Malaysia-Norway business seminar and deliver a keynote address at a seminar on providing equal opportunities for women.

Trade between the two countries was at US$242.7 million (RM811.1 million) last year.

Wisma Putra said that in the quest to promote new sources of growth, Malaysia would like to invite Norwegian businessmen to venture into research and development activities.

Malaysia would  also  seek cooperation between Norwegian and Malaysian companies in the manufacturing  and  services sectors, including in information communications technology, green technology, machinery and engineering support, construction, biotechnology and business process outsourcing, it said. — Bernama