Wan Azizah takes commercial flight for maiden trip to Mongolia

ULAANBAATAR: Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail flew to Mongolia via commercial airline for her maiden overseas trip as Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister.
Wan Azizah arrived at the Chinggis Khaan (rpt Khaan) International Airport in the Mongolian capital to begin her three-day visit on Tuesday from Narita International Airport, Japan on transit to attend the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR).
On hand to receive her at the Mongolian airport was Malaysia's ambassador to China who is concurrently accredited to Mongolia Datuk Zainuddin Yahya.
Zainuddin said Wan Azizah had decided to take the commercial flight for the trip due to cost factor instead of flying with the government plane, which could be costly.
"Prudent spending," he told Malaysian journalists covering Wan Azizah's trip to the Mongolian capital on Tuesday.
While here, Wan Azizah will have a packed schedule especially on Wednesday in conjunction with the AMCDRR where she will attend three main meetings, besides receiving courtesy calls from prominent individuals on the sideline of the conference.
She will be Malaysia's voice at the Ministerial Statements session, Asian Leaders' Meeting and Technical Session at the AMCDRR.
AMCDRR is a platform to discuss regional mechanism in tackling issues concerning reducing disaster risks in the Asia Pacific region.
Over 3000 representatives of 50 Asia-Pacific countries converged in the Mongolian capital for the conference with the theme "Preventing Disaster Risk: Protecting Sustainable Development".
Wan Azizah is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori.
In addition, Wan Azizah will have meetings with the deputy secretary-general of Asean for Asean Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), Vongthep Arthakaivalvatee; executive director of Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), Adelina Kamal; chair of UNISDR Scientific and Technology Advisory Group (STAG), Prof Rajib Shaw and Exco for Programme Development and Operations of Mercy Malaysia Norazam Samah. — Bernama