Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia] February 28 (ANI/Xinhua): Malaysia's first parliament session of the year convened on Monday as the country seeks to recover from the effects of COVID-19 while coping with an Omicron fueled pandemic surge.

The session will run from Feb. 28 to March 24 following an opening by Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah in which he called on all members of parliament (MPs) to cooperate in ensuring the country's recovery.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Russian’s Central Bank Raises Rate to 20% From 9.5% to Help Ruble Amid Western Financial Sanctions.

"For 2022, let us continue to strengthen our strategies and resilience to face the challenges posed by COVID-19," he said.

"The nation's economic recovery needs to be accelerated so that our nation will not be left behind. Ease the people's affairs to help them rebuild their lives with a sense of security, peace, and wellbeing for the sake of our beloved country," he added.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Central Bank in Russia Imposes Foreign Shares Sale Ban After US Imposed Heavy Financial Sanctions.

The country is seeing a surge in new COVID-19 infections, with 32,070 cases being reported last Thursday, the highest since the pandemic began in 2020. The daily cases remained over 20,000 as of Monday.

Malaysia is also eyeing the reopening of its international borders, with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin saying last week that the date and plan to do so has been finalized and will be announced by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob soon.

Malaysia has already implemented a vaccinated travel lane (VTL) with Singapore and is in talks with Brunei and Thailand for similar schemes. (ANI/Xinhua)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)