May 6, 2005	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 26, 1426

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KUALA LUMPUR, May 5: Malaysia on Thursday gave an emphatic endorsement to Pakistan’s bid for a full dialogue partnership with the 10-state Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) of which the former is a key member. The assurance was held out to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz by his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmed Badawi during their 40-minute one-to-one meeting at the latter’s office in Putrajaya.

“We welcome and support at international level Pakistan’s more active role in Asean as full dialogue partner,” Mr Badawi later declared explicitly at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Aziz. In an equally significant development the two sides decided to conclude the FTA-related early harvest agreement by July. They also agreed to take all necessary steps to ensure early resumption of PIA and Malaysian Airlines flights between the two countries, starting with the Lahore sector.

At the outset, Mr Aziz said although Pakistan’s relations with Asean were growing it wanted a full dialogue partnership with the association. Stating that Pakistan was looking for a comprehensive partnership with Malaysia which covers trade, investment, banking, and tourism, he underlined: “This has to be broad and deep, including many facets.”

The prime minister asserted that Pakistan strived for peace in the region. Terming the bilateral meetings ‘very successful’, the Malaysian prime minister said the FTA talks were proceeding well. “We expect to sign the agreement by the end of this year,” he added.

Referring to the cooperation in the OIC, Mr Badawi specially commended the capacity-building initiative of the organization.

During their one-to-one interaction, the two leaders discussed the revitalizing of the OIC and UN reforms. Mr Aziz briefed his Malaysian counterpart about Pakistan’s role in the region and apprised him about its relations with the neighbouring countries, including India, China, Afghanistan, and Iran.

In the context of Indo-Pakistan relations, Mr Aziz talked about the ongoing composite dialogue process and underscored the need to address the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. He also asked the Malaysian leadership to press upon India this need.

The meeting was followed by the delegation-level talks that went on for more than an hour. The talks, at which cabinet members from both sides were present, covered the entire ambit of bilateral relations. Also present at the meeting were the two high commissioners and senior foreign ministry officials from both sides.

On the bilateral front, employment of Pakistani workers in Malaysia, defence cooperation and need for a closer cooperation in IT and telecom, finance and technology figured in discussions. The meeting ended on a positive note with a joint pledge to consolidate partnership that extends from bilateral to multilateral level.

Two MoUs were also signed on the occasion. One pertained to cooperation in science and technology and the other to an agreement between the two official national news agencies.

When Mr Badawi was asked by a Pakistani journalist that how far the latest round of talks had taken Pakistan-Malaysia relations, his response was: “I am very happy. There is a lot of improvement.”

Later, talking to Pakistani journalists after returning to his hotel in Kuala Lumpur in the evening, Prime Minister Aziz said the two sides reviewed some of the decisions made during Mr Badawi’s visit to Pakistan in February. Mr Aziz said he had started his four-nation Southeast Asia tour with Malaysia because Pakistan enjoyed a very special relationship with it.

He said a ‘declaration on cooperation in international terrorism and trans-national crime’ was also in the works and would be firmed up between the two countries soon.

The prime minister said the Malaysian side had expressed interest in opening a bank in Pakistan to which he responded positively. He said to help Pakistan in promoting tourism, the Malaysian tourism minister would visit Pakistan in June.

On Pakistan’s quest for a full dialogue partnership with Asean, the prime minister said his Malaysian counterpart had told him that he would instruct his foreign minister to follow up this matter with other member countries.

Mr Aziz maintained that during his meeting with the Malaysian prime minister they had comprehensive and ‘very encouraging’ discussions on Pakistan’s position on the issue of UN reforms. However, he refused to go into any specifics.

He said Malaysia had a special interest in real estate, construction, agro-based industry, tourism, petroleum and Pakistan would encourage it.

The export of manpower from Pakistan to Malaysia was under way with the approval of 1,000 Pakistani workers, the prime minister pointed out.

Earlier, the prime minister attended a welcoming ceremony at the palatial Malaysian PM’s office where he was also given a guard of honour.

On arrival at the Kuala Lumpur Airport on an extremely warm Thursday morning, the prime minister was given a red-carpet welcome. He was received by Malaysian Information Minister and Acting Foreign Minister Datok Paduka and Abdul Qadir Shaikh Fadzirand. Pakistan High Commissioner to Malaysia Talat Munir and senior government officials were also present.