News Analysis |
Prime Minister Khan will leave for his two-day official visit to Malaysia today (Tuesday). The premier will meet his Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohammad. The high-level delegation along with PM Khan includes Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary, and Advisor to PM Abdul Razzaq Dawood.
Economic cooperation will be the focus of the meetings during the visit. According to the sources, PM Khan will receive briefing over Malaysia’s model for swift development and discussions will be held on how Pakistan can benefit from Malaysia’s experience and exposure to bring about similar economic prosperity and development.
The visit is an opportunity to strengthen existing friendly bilateral ties between Pakistan and Malaysia. According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr. Muhammad Faisal, this would be the first state visit by any foreign leader since Malaysia’s PM assumed office in May 2018.
It was perhaps for the first time in the history of Pakistan that on the invitation of a political party a former prime minister of a foreign country visited Pakistan.
PM Khan was previously scheduled to fly to Malaysia on October 28 but the trip delayed due to the busy schedule of the premier. PM Khan has several times appreciated the initiatives taken by Malaysia to strengthen their economy. Pakistan and Malaysia already enjoy brotherly relations and mutual respect reinforced by cultural and religious empathy.
The visit of PM Khan to Malaysia will be fruitful in providing an opportunity to further fortify the bilateral relations by augmenting the economic and trade ties for mutual benefit. Personally, it could also be an uplifting moment for PM Khan as he will meet his role model. Mahathir Mohamad is one of the few international leaders whom Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has always admired.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President; Brazil’s Lula da Silva; and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore were the other leaders he admired. Mahathir Mohamad had come to Pakistan to attend a conference “A clash of civilizations or A clash of interests?” on the invitation of Imran Khan in 2006. The seminar was largely attended by the cross-section of the society including intellectuals, columnists, journalists, retired generals, bureaucrats, and prominent figures of the city and above all the leaders of all political parties of Pakistan.
Dr. Muhammad Faisal, this would be the first state visit by any foreign leader since Malaysia’s PM assumed office in May 2018.
It was perhaps for the first time in the history of Pakistan that on the invitation of a political party a former prime minister of a foreign country visited Pakistan.
When Mahatir Muhammad won the elections in May, the as yet unelected Khan took to Twitter to congratulate the newly-elected PM. He stated that Najib Razak was the reason that Mahathir came out of a 15-year retirement. He continued that Mahathir had won the elections despite attempts by Razak’s government to manipulate the elections.
Corruption of Malaysian PM Najib Razak was the major reason Mahatir came out of a 15-year retirement to win elections despite attempts by Najib govt to manipulate the same. Congratulations to Mahatir & the people of Malaysia.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 10, 2018
On Imran Khan’s victory in the July 2018 elections, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has sent a heartfelt letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. Mahathir felicitated Imran Khan on becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He said that he is highly impressed by the PTI chief’s victory in general elections 2018.