PM to visit India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will tomorrow leave on working visits to India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the foreign ministry said.
Mahathir will head first to New Delhi for talks with both Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President APJ Abdul Kalam, the ministry said in a statement today.
He is also expected to address an India-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Summit and to see the development of the information technology sector in Hyderabad.
Mahathir will be accompanied by his wife Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali and a delegation including Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar and Primary Industries Minister Lim Keng Yaik.
The visit hopes to enhance bilateral relations and promote mutually beneficial economic cooperation, the ministry statement said. The Indian prime minister visited Malaysia in May 2001.
India's Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said during a visit to Kuala Lumpur last month that Malaysia is India's largest trading partner in the 10-nation Asean region, with bilateral trade worth US$1.9 billion.
Malaysia's exports to India consist mainly of palm oil and gas, while it imports food and agricultural products.
Keynote address
Mahathir is expected to push for further reduction in palm oil tariffs during his visit to make the product more competitive, officials said.
Malaysia is the world's largest palm oil producer and India is its leading market.
Mahathir will continue on to Pakistan on Friday, for talks with President Pervez Musharraf before leaving for Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
There he will deliver a keynote address at a seminar on "The Future Vision of the Saudi Economy Till the Year 2020," the ministry said. AFP
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