ISLAMABAD – JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND PAKISTAN ON THE OCCASIONOF THE OFFICIAL VISIT OF H.E. IMRAN KHAN, PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN TOMALAYSIA 20- 21 NOVEMBER 2018
1. At the invitation of the Honourable Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, PrimeMinister of Malaysia, His Excellency Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistanundertook an Official Visit to Malaysia from 20-21 November 2018.
2. During the visit, Prime Minister Imran Khan was accorded a ceremonialwelcome at the Perdana Square, Prime Minister’s Office, Putrajaya by theHonourable Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia.
3. After the welcoming ceremony, Prime Minister Imran Khan held a bilateralmeeting with Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya. Bothleaders held fruitful and in-depth discussions, which took place in a warmand cordial atmosphere. The discussion covered a wide range of bilateral,regional and international issues of mutual interests.
4. Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated Prime Minister Tun Dr. MahathirMohamad on his electoral victory and commended the smooth and peacefultransition of power from the previous government. Prime Minister Tun Dr.Mahathir Mohamad also congratulated Prime Minister Imran Khan on his recentresounding election as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan and wishedPakistan greater progress in its national development under the newgovernment.
5. Both leaders acknowledged the long history of close cooperation betweenboth countries since Malaysia’s independence. The Malaysian side recalledthe contribution by Justice Abdul Hameed of Pakistan, member of the ReidCommission, in the drafting of the Malaysian constitution. Both Leadersreaffirmed the commitment to strengthen the partnership which meets theinterests of both countries. In setting the tone and future direction ofbilateral relations between the two countries, both leaders stressed theimportance of exchanges of visits at all levels, with a view to furtherexpand the depth of bilateral relations.
6. The two leaders welcomed the establishment of Bilateral Consultationbetween the senior officials of both Ministries of Foreign Affairs as themechanism to intensify engagements between both sides. In this regard,Malaysia and Pakistan will convene the first Bilateral Consultation inIslamabad next year.
7. Reflecting longstanding and substantial economic, commercial, andinvestment ties, both leaders welcomed continued efforts to intensifycooperation between Malaysia and Pakistan. They underpinned their shareddesire to strengthen bilateral economic ties, expand trade and investment,create favourable conditions for commerce and business in both countries,particularly in palm oil, agri products, food retail, halal products,automotive parts, energy, science and technology, and telecommunication.The sole electric provider company in Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional Berhad isopen to business opportunities with Pakistan including in renewable energy.
8. Reaffirming the Malaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement(MPCEPA) signed on 8 November 2007 in Kuala Lumpur which entered into forceon 1 January 2008, Malaysia and Pakistan recognised the importance ofregular discussions to strengthen the trade relationship in key sectors andaddressing bilateral trade imbalance. Both leaders welcomed continuingefforts to further enhance bilateral economic relations and underscoredimportance of these efforts in advancing cooperation between Malaysia andPakistan. In this regard, both sides look forward to a possible MPCEPAJoint Committee Meeting in the near future with the intention to enhancefurther economic partnership.
9. On the Inter-Governmental Agreement on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)between Malaysia and Pakistan signed in November 2017, Prime Minister TunDr. Mahathir Mohamad reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to assist Pakistan inaddressing its energy shortfall. In this regard, Prime Minister Imran Khanwelcomed Malaysia’s cooperation in LNG and other energy sectors includinghydroelectric and renewable resources.
10. Recognising Malaysia’s success in the high-tech industry hub in thenorthern state of Penang, Pakistan highlighted their intention to exploregreater collaboration between high-tech industries in Malaysia andPakistan. Malaysia invited Pakistani companies to invest in Malaysia inboth manufacturing and services sectors where the companies are able toleverage Malaysia’s strategic location in expanding their investments intoASEAN and the Asia Pacific regions. Pakistan invited potential Malaysiancompanies to explore the possibility of investing in Special Economic Zonesto take advantage of Pakistan’s strategic location at the crossroads ofCentral, South and West Asia.
11. Both leaders reaffirmed the importance of the Memorandum ofUnderstanding on Defence Cooperation and looked forward to the 13th JointCommittee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) which will be convened in 2019 inKuala Lumpur. Malaysia invited Pakistan to participate in the upcomingLangkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in 2019.Pakistan also welcomed Malaysia’s participation in the upcoming DefenceExpo IDEAS- 2018.
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12. The two leaders agreed on the need to enhance educational ties betweenMalaysia and Pakistan and agreed that close cooperation on education andtraining are critical elements of the next phase of the relationship.
13. Both sides acknowledged the importance of the tourism industry andyouth exchanges in promoting greater people-to-people contacts, sustainablesocio- economic growth, and in fostering mutual understanding between thetwo countries. Both sides also reaffirmed the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) on the Recruitment of Pakistan Workers signed in Islamabad, Pakistanon 20th October 2003.
14. Noting the momentum building up worldwide for better quality productsand services as consumers gain confidence in the halal process, PrimeMinister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad conveyed Malaysia’s readiness to shareits experience and expertise in the halal industry. Both leaders agreed toshare information and best practices in this endeavour.
15. Recognising Malaysia’s earnest efforts in eliminating corruption, PrimeMinister Imran Khan expressed Pakistan’s keen interest in learning fromMalaysia’s experience and accomplishments in this field.
16. As two peace-loving Islamic nations, the two leaders agreed to increasetheir collaborative efforts to uphold the true values of Islam ininternational fora while strengthening the solidarity of the Muslim Ummah.Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate more closely onissues affecting the Muslim world including taking joint efforts inunderscoring Muslim sensitivities in attacking Muslim holy personalitiesand religious belief. Both stressed that terrorism cannot be associatedwith any religion or belief. Views were Malaysian side took note of themassive counter-terrorism efforts that Pakistan has successfully undertakenin an effort to eliminate terrorism.
Both sides also exchanged views on the situation in Palestine and in theRakhine State, Myanmar involving Rohingya Muslims. On the Palestinianissue, both countries agreed to contribute positively in other forums,especially in the OIC Committee of Six on Palestine, of which Malaysia andPakistan are members. Prime Minister Imran Khan briefed Prime Minister TunMahathir on the grave human rights situation in Kashmir and in this regardreferred to the Reports of UNOHCHR, Amnesty International, InternationalPeople’s Tribunal and All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group, UK. He alsodiscussed the role of OIC Contact Group on Kashmir to highlight the issue.
17. Both leaders witnessed the signing of the Partial Visa AbolishmentAgreement (PVAA) which will reinforce the positive momentum in thebilateral relationship by broadening contact at the officials’ levelbetween the two countries.
18. Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed deep appreciation and sinceregratitude to Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and the people ofMalaysia for their warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to himand his delegation during their stay in Malaysia.
19. Prime Minister Imran Khan also extended an invitation to Prime MinisterTun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to undertake a visit to Pakistan. Prime MinisterTun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad accepted the invitation with appreciation. Thedates of the visit will be coordinated through diplomatic channels.
