Malaysian, Pakistani PMs hold talks to boost bilateral ties

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan in Kuala Lumpur on November 21.
Malaysian, Pakistani PMs hold talks to boost bilateral ties ảnh 1Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (L) speaks with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan (Photo: AFP)
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan in Kuala Lumpur on November 21.

At a press conference following the talks, the two leaders said they had discussed several topics of mutual interest, especially on anti-corruption and tourism promotion.

Mahathir said Malaysia and Pakistan had a long relationship as well as some similar problems and the two nations will continue dialogue to discuss solutions.

The two sides also discussed foreign direct investments, privatisation, tourism and food, he said.

Mahathir said that Khan had sought his help in making Pakistan a dialogue partner with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the two countries would continue their mutual defence cooperation.

In his first visit to Malaysia since becoming Prime Minister in August, Khan said he was eager to learn about Malaysia's efforts in fighting corruption.

According to him, the two leaders are in similar situations as they both came to power on an anti-corruption platform with high national debt.

Khan also said that Pakistan is keen to develop its potential for tourism and looked to Malaysia for help with developing tourist resorts.

Pakistan also wants to learn from Malaysia’s experience in raising gross domestic product and per capita income, he added.

The two leaders welcomed the establishment of bilateral consultation between the senior officials of both Ministries of Foreign Affairs as the mechanism to intensify engagements between both sides.

Malaysia invited Pakistani companies to invest in Malaysia in both manufacturing and services sectors where the companies are able to leverage Malaysia's strategic location in expanding their investments into ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific regions.

In response, Pakistan invited potential Malaysian companies to explore the possibility of investing in special economic zones to take advantage of Pakistan's strategic location at the crossroads of Central, South and West Asia.-VNA
VNA

See more