ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan will be paying a two-day state visit to Malaysia on November 20 in search of economic help. PM Khan is bidding to overcome economic crises in the country with minimum reliance on International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said that PM Imran Khan will be accompanied by a high-level delegation on Malaysian visit which would be the first state visit by any foreign leader since Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad assumed Malaysia’s top office in May. The visit also will also mark the premier’s first bilateral visit to Malaysia. The two PMs will hold one-on-one talks, followed by delegation-level talks.
Officials said that the PM would seek investment and a ‘mini-package’ from Malaysian counterpart during the visit. There were expectations that Malaysia could offer some investment package. Prime Minister Imran Khan had expected a Saudi Arabia-like package from China when he flew to Beijing last week for a 3-day visit but the details are still awaited.
However, Beijing promised to ‘take care’ of the ally. The currency swap arrangement between the State Bank and People’s Bank of China was also extended by 3 years.
Last month, Pakistan took a big step forward to avert the IMF programme as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agreed to provide $3 billion for one year as balance of payment support and a further one-year deferred payment facility for oil payments up to $3 billion. Economists calculated the impact of the support at $12 billion.
An IMF team is in Pakistan since November 7 to negotiate the programme, likely to cover a period of 3 years. Finance Minister Asad Umar originally said the IMF would be asked for a $12 billion package while another $5 billion would be sought from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. But with the Saudi support and expected China package, the IMF loan may be reduced to $6-7 billion.
Dr Faisal said: “Pakistan and Malaysia enjoy warm brotherly relations, mutual respect, friendship and understanding reinforced by strong cultural and religious affinities. The FO spokesperson said PM Khan’s visit would provide an opportunity to further cement the existing friendly and cordial bilateral relations between the two countries by enhancing economic, trade and commercial ties for our mutual benefit.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday held a meeting with Malaysian High Commissioner Ikram Bin Mohammed Ibrahim at the Foreign Office. “The two sides discussed wide range of issues and expressed satisfaction at the positive growth in relations between Pakistan and Malaysia,” said a foreign ministry statement.
The Foreign Minister briefed the High Commissioner about the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Malaysia, it said.
He highlighted that the Prime Minister’s visit would help further strengthen bilateral relations between two countries and open new avenues of bilateral cooperation, the statement said.
“The Malaysian High Commissioner assured his government’s full support to enhance bilateral relations with Pakistan and said that Malaysian leadership looked forward to receiving the Prime Minister Imran Khan in Kuala Lumpur,” it added.
SHAFQAT ALI
