ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan reached Malaysia on Tuesday on a two-day official visit. He was received by Senator Marzuki bin Yahya, deputy minister of foreign affairs, and Dr Mohammad Farid bin Rafik, deputy minister in the PM office, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The prime minister’s delegation comprises For­ei­gn Minister Shah Meh­mood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.

Prime Minister Khan is the first head of government to visit Malaysia since Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister for a second time earlier this year.

Prime Minister Khan and his Malaysian counterpart are expected to hold a one-on-one meeting before the two countries’ delegations engage in detailed discussions. He will also meet other government functionaries.

This is Imran Khan’s fourth official visit to any country after becoming prime minister. Before this, he has visited Saudi Arabia, China and the United Arab Emirates to seek bailout packages amid a mounting balance of payments crisis confronting Pakistan.

On Oct 18, PM Khan and Mahathir Mohamad had held a telephonic conversation in which the former had emphasised Pakistan’s need of close and cordial relations with Malaysia.

During the conversation with Mahathir Mohamad, PM Khan had expressed a desire to learn from their experiences, and also accepted the veteran leader’s invitation to visit Malaysia.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2018