Thiruvananthapuram: Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the sovereign ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, on Sunday arrived in Kerala on a five-day visit.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who had invited Al-Qasimi to the state during his visit to the emirate last year, received him at the airport at Thiruvananthapuram.
Welcoming the ruler of Sharjah to Kerala and expressing happiness over Al-Qasimi accepting his invitation, Vijayan, in a Facebook post, said the visit would strengthen the relations between Kerala and Sharjah.
“Kerala welcomes HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. Still fondly remember his warm hospitality and the good words he expressed about Malayalees & Kerala during my visit to Sharjah last year (sic),” he wrote on the social networking website.
According to official sources, Al-Qasimi would call on Governor P Sathasivam at the Raj Bhavan at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
He would also meet the chief minister and some of the other state ministers at the Raj Bhavan.
Vijayan is scheduled to host a dinner in Al-Qasimi’s honour at Kovalam, the famed beach resort near at Thiruvananthapuram.
On Tuesday, the ruler of Sharjah would take part in a convocation ceremony organised by the Calicut University at the Raj Bhavan, where the governor would confer an honorary D.Litt. degree on him.
Al-Qasimi is scheduled to leave Kerala on September 28, the sources said.
PTI