KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received a congratulatory call from Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just hours after being appointed as the 10th Prime Minister on Thursday.

The call came when Anwar was about to address the nation in his first press conference as the country’s Prime Minister.

Anwar, in the conversation that lasted about 10 minutes, expressed hope that Malaysia and Türkiye would strengthen ties and cooperation in many areas including trade, business, culture, education and military.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with you,” Anwar was heard saying over the phone.

Anwar told the press conference that he had earlier received a congratulatory call from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, in addition to congratulatory messages from his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

Anwar, 75, took the oath of office as the 10th Prime Minister before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara on Thursday.