British PM Arrives For Two-Day Visit

SEPANG (Malaysia), April 12 (Bernama) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport here for a two-day official visit beginning Thursday. Upon arrival at 12.45pm, Cameron was greeted by Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia A.Kohilan Pillay and Malaysian Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir. The British Premier's visit to Malaysia was at the invitation Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and was his first official visit to Malaysia since becoming prime minister in May 2010. The visit is expected to raise the momentum and forge closer bilateral relations between Malaysia and Britain, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry of Malaysia. Cameron is scheduled to deliver a speech at the Malaysia-Britain Trade and Investment Forum, hold a bilateral meeting with his Malaysian counterpart to discuss cooperation in various fields for mutual benefits, besides attending a Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) programme at the University of Nottingham, Malaysian Campus in Semenyih. Cameron was also accompanied by Britain's Deputy Trade and Investment Minister Lord Stephen Green and Deputy Minister of Universities and Science David Willets together with a delegation comprising government officials, business leaders and the British media. In 2011, Britain was Malaysia's fourth biggest trading partner among member countries of the European Union (EU) with total trade amounting to RM13.03 billion (US$4.23 billion) while Malaysia was Britain's second biggest trading partner among Asean member countries. In terms of investment in the manufacturing sector, total investments by British firms stood at RM19.17 billion (US$6.23 billion) for projects which had been implemented and given approvals. -- BERNAMA