ISLAMABAD, May 2: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will embark on a four-nation tour on Wednesday which is part of Pakistan’s ‘Strategic Vision East Asia’ aimed at building comprehensive partnerships with East Asian countries and Asean. The eight-day visit will take him to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Thailand. During the visit, a number of important bilateral agreements and MoUs are expected to be inked with these countries, mostly in the economic and trade areas.

The prime minister will hold wide-ranging talks with the Southeast Asian leaders. He will also be meeting businessmen, Pakistani community and think tanks in all these countries. Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani announcing the dates of the prime minister’s tour at his weekly briefing here on Monday said the visit would give a fresh impetus to Pakistan’s relations with these Southeast Asian countries.

“The visit is part of Pakistan’s ‘Strategic Vision East Asia’ which is centred on building constructive and structured links with the countries of East Asia and Asean for peace and development,” Mr Jilani declared. The prime minister will start his Southeast Asia tour with Malaysia where he will meet his counterpart Abdullah Ahmed Badawi who visited Pakistan this February. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including the Indo-Pakistan peace process and UN reforms.

He will deliver a keynote address to the Asian Leadership Institute and will also address the Pakistan-Malaysian Business Forum. From Malaysia the prime minister will proceed to Brunei Darussalam on May 7. During his overnight stay there he will call on Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and address a business forum.

On May 8, the prime minister will arrive in Thailand where he will call on King Bhumibol Adulyadej and hold talks with his counterpart Thaksin Shinwatra.

He will also address a forum jointly organized by the Asian Institute for Technology and the Thamarasat University. An address to a gathering of the Thai businessmen is also on the cards. He will also inaugurate the Thai-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce.

The prime minister will reach Singapore on May 10 on the last leg of his tour. His official engagements there include a call-on the president and meeting with his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong. He will also speak at the Singapore Press Club, the Institute of South Asian Studies and the Singapore Business Community.