KUCHING: The Sarawak Governor, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, accompanied by Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi, graciously received a courtesy call from the Ambassador of Italy to Malaysia, Raffaele Langella, at their official residence at Kasuma Resort, Petra Jaya, on Tuesday.

The hour-long visit was held as an introductory engagement following Raffaele Langella’s official appointment as Ambassador of Italy to Malaysia, and also served to further strengthen the existing diplomatic ties between Italy and Sarawak.

During the meeting, Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi and Raffaele Langella exchanged views on a range of areas of mutual interest, particularly in the fields of green energy, trade, higher education, biodiversity conservation and environmental issues.

The Italian Ambassador also expressed the interest of his country’s leading industrial companies in continuing to serve as strategic partners to Sarawak, especially in supporting the state’s aspiration to position itself as a clean energy hub in the Southeast Asian region.

Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi highlighted that Sarawak possesses significant potential in green hydrogen production and the development of renewable energy, in line with the state’s sustainable development agenda.

In addition, discussions touched on potential collaboration in the areas of culture and tourism, including efforts to increase the number of Italian visitors to Sarawak, particularly within the ecotourism and heritage segments.

Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi and his wife expressed their hope that collaboration between Sarawak and Italy would continue to be strengthened to an even higher level, opening up broader development opportunities and mutual benefits.

Also present was Director of the Sarawak Regional Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, Dato Fenny Nuli. -UKASnews