He also said Malaysia had agreed to co-chair the regional conference’s ministerial meeting in July, Bernama reported.

“It is essentially the issue of reconstructing Gaza and Palestine.

“This is very meaningful to us in Malaysia and I’m sure for many countries, including Muslims throughout the world,” he said in a joint press conference with visiting Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba in Putrajaya.

Ishiba is currently on a two-day official visit to Malaysia, marking his first trip to the country since assuming office in October last year.

Ceapad is a regional conference framework initiated by Japan in 2013 to support the Palestinian state-building efforts by drawing on the resources, knowledge and experiences of economic development of the East Asian countries.

Anwar said Malaysia would also discuss with its Asean peers regarding the possibility of hosting this meeting in Kuala Lumpur during the Asean Summit.

On another note, Anwar said Malaysia and Japan had also discussed the need of maintaining peace in the South China Sea amid the tensions over territorial disputes.

He also highlighted the importance of Indo-Pacific collaboration and the pursuit of amicable resolutions to the crisis in Myanmar, in line with the Asean five-point consensus.

Ishiba said in these increasingly complex and uncertain times, strengthening cooperation with Malaysia and Asean was one of the highest priorities for Japanese diplomacy.