KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 2026 — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was accorded a state welcoming ceremony at Istana Negara on Saturday during his first state visit to Malaysia since assuming office in June 2014.
The visit was made at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, who personally welcomed El-Sisi at 10.08 am.
Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, and Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
Following the arrival, El-Sisi inspected a guard of honour comprising 28 officers and personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment.
The ceremony at the Istana Negara parade square began with the national anthems of both countries performed by the Royal Ranger Regiment band under Captain (DOM) Mohd Fahmy Harun, followed by a 21-gun salute fired by the 41st Battery of the Royal Artillery Regiment.
The Egyptian president then inspected a second guard of honour made up of five officers and 89 personnel from the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, and Royal Malaysian Air Force, led by Major Muhammad Waqiyudin Abd Rahman.
Sultan Ibrahim later granted an audience to El-Sisi and the Egyptian delegation at Dewan Seri Maharaja, where a presentation of royal tokens of appreciation took place. His Majesty then hosted a state banquet for the president and the Egyptian government delegation at the Grand Banquet Hall.
El-Sisi’s visit is the first by an Egyptian president to Malaysia in nearly three decades. The previous visit was by former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak in November 1997 for the G-15 Summit in Kuala Lumpur. Mubarak had earlier visited Malaysia in 1979 as Egyptian Vice President.
According to Wisma Putra, El-Sisi, who is accompanied by Cabinet ministers and senior Egyptian officials, is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Anwar Ibrahim to review the progress of cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The two leaders will also witness the exchange of memoranda of understanding between Malaysia and Egypt, followed by an official hi-tea at the Seri Perdana Complex hosted by the Prime Minister.
Malaysia and Egypt established diplomatic relations in 1959. In 2025, Egypt was Malaysia’s seventh-largest trading partner in Africa, with total bilateral trade valued at RM3.08 billion. From January to August 2026, trade between the two countries rose 74.7 per cent to RM3.49 billion.
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