In a Facebook post today, Anwar said he spoke to his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, in a phone call about the matter.

“In our conversation, I expressed Malaysia’s readiness to welcome her to Kuala Lumpur early next year to finalise a strategic agreement between Petronas and Eni SpA.

“Both of us agreed to expedite and conclude the Petronas-Eni collaboration in the near future. God-willing, the close ties between Malaysia and Italy will continue to be strengthened for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” he said.

In February, Petronas announced that it had signed an exclusive memorandum of understanding with the Italian firm to form a joint venture holding company to oversee selected upstream assets in Indonesia and Malaysia.

It said the partnership was expected to generate substantial synergies towards becoming a major liquefied natural gas player in the region while maintaining a sustainable production level of 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the medium-term.

The national oil company also said the joint venture will combine about three billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of reserves with an additional 10 billion boe of potential exploration upside.

The joint venture will focus on investing in new gas development projects, reflecting the companies’ commitment to energy transition and supporting the increasing regional domestic gas demand.

Separately, Anwar said Meloni informed him that she was unable to attend the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur because of pressing matters in Rome, including preparation of a budget-related legislation and discussions at the European Union level.

“I also conveyed my appreciation for Italy’s steadfast stance in supporting the call for peace, justice, and universal humanitarian principles in Gaza – a moral voice that is greatly needed on the global stage today,” he said.