Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SRI PERDANA, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 01/08/97
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL DINNER IN HONOUR OF
THE HON. MIAN MOHAMMAD NAWAZ SHARIF
PRIME MINISTER OF THE ISLAMIC
REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN
1. It is a great pleasure for me to wish you and
members of your delegation a warm welcome or "SELAMAT
DATANG' to Malaysia. May I also take this opportunity,
on behalf of the people and Government of Malaysia, to
congratulate the Government and people of Pakistan as
you commemorate this year, the 50th Anniversary of your
independence.
2. Pakistan is a country that we hold dear to us as a
brother Islamic country and we welcome you as a friend
and brother with the hope and expectation that Allah
will bless our good relations and the well-being of our
peoples.
3. I recall my recent short visit to Pakistan when I
had the opportunity of having a fruitful meeting and
discussions with you on matters of mutual interest.
This morning we were able to resume our discussions and
explore the possibilities for further collaboration in
the future, especially in expanding the scope of our
economic cooperation.
4. I am happy to note that relations between our two
countries are progressing well, particularly with the
increase in the exchange of visits by high level
officials and the private sectors. This is a positive
demonstration of our serious efforts at collaboration
and cooperation for the mutual benefits of our people. I
am confident that this encouraging trend will enable the
two sides to share each other's expertise and experience
in national development.
5. Bilateral trade between our two countries stood at
US$698 million (RM1.74 billion) in 1996, out of which
Malaysia exported US$649 million (RM1.62 billion).
Although the trade imbalance has widened over the years,
I strongly believe we can narrow the gap. In this
regard, I welcome your business delegation to Malaysia
and wish them success in their meetings and discussions
with their Malaysian counterparts. With their
experience and expertise, I am confident that the
partnership between our private sectors would produce
mutually beneficial results. We could also cooperate to
seek opportunities in Third Countries, especially the
newly-independent Central Asian Republics where market
potential exist. The time has come for us to
demonstrate to the world that the Muslim Ummah can
cooperate for its betterment and for the good of the
world at large.
6. I am glad to note that your government has
introduced a comprehensive reform package aimed at
creating an efficient and effective public
administration machinery that could face the challenges
in the 21st Century. Your efforts at privatisation,
civil service reform, agricultural reform, providing new
incentives to attract foreign investments, macro-
economic stabilisation and liberalisation package and
financial reform will no doubt bring great benefits to
your country. These new policies, hopefully will open
up more opportunities to Malaysian businessmen/investors
to participate in development projects of your country,
especially in sectors such as housing, infrastructure,
construction, aviation, banking and finance, energy and
power and human resource development. The Malaysian
private sector, with its experience in Africa, Europe,
Latin America, South East Asia and other parts of the
world, could join hands with their counterparts from
Pakistan and make a significant contribution towards
further enhancing Malaysia - Pakistan relations. The
relocation of labour intensive industries to Pakistan on
a joint-venture basis could also contribute towards
reducing our trade imbalance while creating employment
opportunities in Pakistan itself.
7. At the level of governmental cooperation, I am
happy to note that the first Ministerial Level Joint
Commission Meeting had just concluded. I would urge
both sides to take action to implement the decisions of
the meeting.
8. Peace and stability are pre-requisites to a
region's economic and social progress. In this regard,
I am happy to note that Pakistan and India concluded a
second round of talks recently in Islamabad to chart a
friendly and harmonious relationship between two
neighbouring countries. I sincerely hope that the talks
would provide a positive avenue in the pursuit of peace
and stability in the sub-continent over the Kashmir
issue. If I may say so, in a dispute like this, no side
can expect to get everything that it demands or believes
it has a right to, if there is to be any solution at
all.
9. With regard to Afghanistan, Malaysia strongly
believe that durable peace and stability could only be
achieved by the formation of a broad-based government
comprising all major warring factions and ethnic groups
in the country. Malaysia support any effort to bring
the warring factions together in a political compact
that would enable a sustained and lasting peace to be
achieved in Afghanistan. Again, maximum demands can
never be met if there is to be any settlement.
10. Your visit marks an important milestone in
enhancing the existing close cordial and brotherly
relations between Malaysia and Pakistan. I sincerely
hope that your visit would be a success and that you
would have pleasant memories of your stay in Malaysia.
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