ISLAMABAD, July 31: The secretary-general of Asean Ong Keng Yong has accepted the government’s invitation to visit Pakistan in the last quarter of this year, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Sunday.

Mr Ong is a former Singaporean diplomat, now based at the Asean secretariat in Jakarta. “The Asean secretary-general will be visiting Pakistan in October or November,” sources told Dawn, adding that it was a strong signal of growing political support for Pakistan within the bloc. The visit would also reactivate the Pakistan-Asean Joint Economic Committee, sources said.

His visit would be a key event in the backdrop of Pakistan’s pending request for full dialogue partnership status with the 10-member organization. The 11th Asean summit will take place in December where a decision in this regard will be taken.

The feedback from Asean countries suggests that Pakistan stands a very good chance. Sources said Pakistan’s request has started appearing on the agenda of all Asean meetings. It was also informally discussed at the recently concluded 12th Asean Regional Forum (ARF) ministerial meeting in Vientiane. Reportedly Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri was informed by the chairman that consensus was fast emerging within Asean on acceding to Pakistan’s request for this status. In a move that could strengthen its case further Pakistan has decided to contribute a substantial amount to the recently-established ARF Fund Unit at the Asean secretariat. The Fund is meant for implementation of ARF projects, activities and decisions.

In the recent past Pakistan has taken a number of steps to expedite the process of integration and cooperation with the Asean.

In April, Pakistan hosted the 4th Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) ministerial meeting in Islamabad which was widely welcomed and appreciated by the Asean leaders. Also, it has been pursuing Free Trade Agreements with the advanced Asean economies including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Pakistan has also offered a number of scholarships to the Asean countries in IT, engineering, medicine as well as diplomatic training.