ISLAMABAD – Malaysia is considering as one of the option to purchase JF-17 Thunder fighter jets from Pakistan and a deal will be finalised between the two countries after completing required formalities.
Malaysian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Hasrul Sani said his country wanted to purchase JF-17 Thunder from Pakistan. “Pakistan and Malaysia are enjoying excellent relations in defence as a result of a joint committee which played role as an active forum,” he said.
He said that this jet fighter was considered an excellent production of Pakistan in the defence sector and a decision about numbers would be taken very soon by the Malaysian government. He expressed his satisfaction over Pakistan-Malaysia bilateral relations and said that both the countries were enjoying cordial and fraternal bilateral relations especially in trade, economy and defence.
He said that Pakistan was one of the largest trade partner of Malaysia with a total trade volume of more than two billion dollars and that could be enhanced further in future times. He said that Malaysian companies were keen to invest in different sectors in Pakistan.
He also said that Malaysian investors may keen to invest in Pakistan again as the security situation had improved owing to the efforts of the government especially after the success of the Zarb-e-Azb military operation against terrorists. He said that Malaysian companies were looking for joint ventures with Pakistani companies through chambers of commerce to invest in mining and energy sectors especially in hydro power projects.
He said that the government of Pakistan should provide proper infrastructure, good banking system besides one window services to international companies to attract them for investment. He said that many Malaysian and other international companies were interested to invest in various projects in Gwadar but could not come due to non-availability of proper infrastructure and facilities.
He said that Pakistan was a blessed country with an important strategic position and it should take maximum advantage from this position for the development and betterment of the nation through economic revolution. “We are happy over the announcement of CPEC and this project will attract multi billion dollars investment to Pakistan as it is being considered one of the biggest indicators for the better economic future of Pakistan,” he said.
“CPEC will change the entire economy of Pakistan and it will be a huge project which will open many windows of development in Pakistan. It will not only beneficial for Pakistan and China but also for the entire region as well as whole Asia,” he said. The high commissioner also appreciated efforts of Pakistan for bringing peace in Afghanistan and lauded its role for holding Heart of Asia conference.
He hoped there would be a permanent peace and stability in Afghanistan due to the efforts of neighbouring countries. He said that Pakistan should also focus on enhancing its trade relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states as there was a great scope of exporting Pakistani goods especially rice beside other items to ASEAN countries. Malaysia was the largest importer of rice and mangoes from Pakistan and was focusing meat and other halal foods, he said.
He also said that the High Commission of Malaysia would very soon extend the invitation to President Mamnoon Hussain to visit Malaysia. He said that more than 4,000 Pakistani students were studying in various Malaysian educational institutions and he expected more in the coming years. He said that about 80,000 Pakistani tourists were visiting Malaysia annually and there were numerous scope of more tourists in future years.
Source : DailyTimes
Link : Malaysia shows interest to buy JF-17 from Pakistan