Anwar said he spoke with Lee to congratulate him on his recent victory in South Korea’s presidential election, and expressed full confidence in his leadership.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to deepening the Malaysia-South Korea strategic partnership, which was elevated during my official visit to Seoul in November last year,” he said in a Facebook post today.

He said he looked forward to welcoming Lee on an official visit to Malaysia ahead of the Asean meetings, and confirmed his own attendance at the Apec summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, in November.

Anwar said bilateral cooperation would continue to focus on four key areas – peace and security, defence, economic ties, and people-to-people exchanges through education and tourism – along with broader regional and global collaboration.

He said South Korea has remained Malaysia’s eighth largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding US$20 billion (RM85.9 billion) for three consecutive years.

“I reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to concluding the Malaysia-Korea Free Trade Agreement within this year,” he said.