The reception also celebrated the deep connection between UK and Malaysia. YB Dato’ Seri Johari bin Abdul Ghani, Minister of Plantation and Commodities, was the guest of honour representing the Malaysian Government at the event.

This was the first King’s Birthday Party reception hosted by High Commissioner Ajay Sharma in Malaysia – having arrived in the country only a few weeks ago.  The reception was attended by over 700 guests including members of the Malaysian royalty, senior government officials, the diplomatic corps and the business community.

The reception kicked off with Minister Dato’ Seri Johari leading a toast to the good health and wellbeing of His Majesty King Charles III. The High Commissioner then reciprocated with a toast to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia.   

In his speech, High Commissioner Ajay Sharma spoke about the strategic partnership between the UK and Malaysia:

Our two Prime Ministers share an ambitious vision and have agreed to elevate the relationship between the UK and Malaysia to a Strategic Partnership, in particular in the areas of education, energy, defence and trade.

The list of our bilateral co-operation is endless. And most importantly, we shouldn’t take the relationship between our two countries for granted. We need to keep working at delivering for our people through this relationship.

The High Commissioner concluded his speech by expressing his hope for more shared success in the UK-Malaysia relations.

The theme of the celebration this year is the Great British Fantasia, inspired by King Charles’ interest in literature, and drawing inspiration from the fantastic and magical in UK literature – from the Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, from Alice in Wonderland to The Chronicles of Narnia. Guests were treated to the best of British food; and were entertained by the UK’s Royal Marine Band and the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.