Gilani for reactivation of Pak-Malaysia JMC, joint ventures
PERTH, (Australia) Oct 28 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday called for reactivation of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) between Pakistan and Malaysia and for the increased cooperation between their two private sectors to initiate joint projects in agriculture, energy infrastructure development and pharmaceuticals. Talking to his Malaysian counterpart Mohammad Najib Tun Abdul Razak here on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting, Prime Minister Gilani said increased economic cooperation between the two countries would go a long way in strengthening all facets of their ties. Gilani also called for greater market access on preferential basis.
Prime Minister Gilani sought support of Malaysia in getting the status of Full Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations).
 He also sought Malaysian expertise in solar energy and alternative means to help Pakistan meet its energy shortfall.
 He said the activation of the JMC, that has been lying dormant for years, would infuse a new spirit in their ties.
The Malaysian Prime Minister termed the meeting “a good opportunity to catch up” and said his country would be happy to help Pakistan in the areas of highways, construction, Independent Power Producers, water supply and management services.
 The Malaysian Prime Minister said his country had made remarkable progress in the area of Islamic banking and offered its expertise in this specialized area.
 Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan’s banking sector too was doing very well and a number of major international banking chains were working satisfactorily and doing good business in the country.
 He said this cooperation would facilitate trade between the two countries. Gilani said he would be sending the Governor State Bank of Pakistan soon to Malaysia to study the Malaysian Islamic banking model.
 Gilani said Pakistan has a very liberal trade regime and offered 100 per cent equity, with facility to repatriate the profits. He also noted the progress made by Malaysia in the area of Information Technology and said Pakistan can learn a great deal in this vital area.
 Prime Minister Gilani also spoke about Pakistan’s role against the extremists and terrorists and said its people and the country had paid a very high price to make the world a peaceful place to live.
 “We will fight this menace in totality,” the Prime Minister said.
He said owing to global recession, the floods and the war against terror, Pakistan’s economic growth was not too bad and the recent trends indicated the turnaround which was indicative of its resilience, holding good promises for the people of Pakistan.
 The Prime Minister also shared with his Malaysian counterpart Pakistan’s relations with the United States of America.
 He said the recent visit of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton helped in better understanding between the two countries of ground realities, as both were cognizant of the convergence of each other’s strategic interests in the region. He said Pakistan believed in giving peace a chance.
 With reference to Afghanistan he said Pakistan believed that it was part of the solution and not part of the problem. He said the country believed that any peace process must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned as it strongly desires stability in its neighbourhood and would not like any negative fall-out.
 He particularly mentioned that because of the conflict in Afghanistan three million Afghan refugees were still stuck up in Pakistan and the world had forgotten about them.
 Prime Minister Gilani also thanked the Malaysian support to it for its membership at the United Nations Security Council besides its help in the aftermath of the devastation caused by the floods and earthquakes.
 Prime Minister Gilani also called for increased parliamentary exchanges between the two countries and said it would help enhance people to people contacts critical to build relations between the two countries on sustainable basis.
 “Governments come and go but people are permanent entities,” the Prime Minister added.
He invited his Malaysian counterpart to visit Pakistan and said such visits must be followed up by regular high level exchanges to ensure implementation of the decisions.
 The two Prime Ministers extended invitation to each other which they accepted and the dates would be finalized by the respective Foreign Offices.
 Foriegn Minister Ms Hina Rabbani Khar, Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Australia Abdul Malik Abdullah and senior officials were also present in the meeting.