Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has yet spoken to the new Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim; and if so, what steps they discussed to strengthen bilateral relations.

The Prime Minister has not yet spoken to new Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but has written to congratulate him on his appointment. We look forward to working with the new Malaysian Government to ensure the UK-Malaysia relationship continues to flourish. The UK and Malaysia have a long history of close friendship, bilateral trade and investment, defence and security cooperation, and strong people-to-people links.