KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, yesterday arrived in Saint Petersburg, a historic city that is among the important centres of culture, architecture and heritage in Russia.
According to a post on Sultan Ibrahim’s official Facebook page, His Majesty’s special aircraft landed at Pulkovo International Airport at 2.38 pm local time.
Upon arrival, His Majesty was received by the governor of Leningrad Oblast, Alexander Yuryevich Drozdenko; the vice-governor of Leningrad Oblast, Yaroslav Anatolyevich Serov; and the chairman of the Committee for External Relations of Saint Petersburg, Evgeny Dmitrievich Grigoriev.
Also present to welcome His Majesty was the Malaysian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Datuk Cheong Loon Lai.
Sultan Ibrahim’s maiden special visit to Saint Petersburg is at the special invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Founded in 1703, Saint Petersburg once served as the capital of the Russian Federation and is renowned for its classical architectural landscape, as well as historic buildings that attract tourists from around the world.
More than 160,000 Malaysians were reported to have visited Saint Petersburg last year.
