SEPANG: The King of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad Isa Al Khalifa arrived today to attend the installation ceremony of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, which will be held at Istana Negara tomorrow.
The special aircraft carrying Sheikh Hamad and his delegation landed at 6.35pm at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
He was welcomed by the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, Tunku Temenggong Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar, Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman, and Tunku Putera Johor Tunku Abu Bakar.
Sheikh Hamad, accompanied by his two sons, Sheikh Abdullah Hamad Al Khalifa and Sheikh Khalid Hamad Al Khalifa, was also greeted by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Upon arrival, Sheikh Hamad walked past a static guard of honour mounted by two officers and 24 personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment (Ceremonial Infantry), led by Captain Raja Azri Syahir Raja Mohd Zulkifli.
Sheikh Hamad is among the foreign royal guests invited to attend the installation ceremony of the king.
Also present will be the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who arrived at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang at 11.55am today.
Sheikh Hamad is also scheduled to attend the Royal Banquet at Istana Negara tomorrow night, held in conjunction with the installation ceremony of His Majesty.
On July 2, it was reported that Fahmi, who is also the chairman of the Special Committee for Events in Conjunction with the Installation Ceremony of the 17th King of Malaysia, had delivered the official invitation to Sheikh Hamad through his son, Sheikh Abdullah, in Manama, Bahrain.