NEW YORK, Sept 24 — UK Prime Minister Theresa May will be among world leaders meeting with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the sidelines of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly here.

The two prime ministers will meet tomorrow, when they are expected to briefly discuss ties between both countries. It will be their first meeting since Dr Mahathir became prime minister again in May.

Ironically, Dr Mahathir is in the UK today for a working visit, but the two leaders chose to meet here.

Another leader meeting Dr Mahathir tomorrow is Iran President Hassan Rouhani, and the two are set to talk about the situation in West Asia.

Also scheduled to see the Malaysian leader are Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Al Thani and Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena.

Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, here to accompany Dr Mahathir, is expected to meet his Sudan counterpart Dr Dirdeiry M. Ahmad.

Earlier, Saifuddin told Malaysian media that the country’s foreign policy will see a renewed focus on Africa, something the country ignored under the previous administration.

“We need to return to Africa. You will see that our new foreign policy will give emphasis towards the continent,” he added.

In his stint as Malaysia’s fourth PM, Dr Mahathir was an advocate for Africa and sought to develop countries from the continent as markets for Malaysian products as well as to provide human resource development training.