Kuala Lumpur and Canberra will sign an anti-terror pact Friday during a visit here by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Malaysia's foreign ministry announced.

Downer and his Malaysian counterpart Syed Hamid Albar would fly into Kuala Lumpur on a private jet from Brunei after the annual Asean Regional Forum security meeting, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The ministers would ink a memorandum of understanding on cooperating to combat international terrorism at the government administrative capital of Putrajaya, it said in a statement.

The signing is part of a two-day official visit by Downer aimed at strengthening bilateral ties, a government official told AFP .

Australia in February sealed a similar agreement with Indonesia on sharing intelligence and cooperation against fighting international terrorism.

Malaysia, which has detained 62 suspected militants allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda network blamed for September 11 attacks, also has similar pacts with the United States, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill, during a visit to Kuala Lumpur in May, said Southeast Asian countries could strengthen their position against terrorists by increasing the exchange of intelligence. — AFP