On Tuesday, 5 September 2023, Ambassador Azhar called on H.E. Mr. Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Chief Secretary of Punjab at his office in Lahore. During the meeting, they discussed the way forward to strengthen further bilateral relations and cooperation between Malaysia and Pakistan, with a focus on trade and investment and people to people contacts.
Ambassador Azhar briefed the Chief Secretary about the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) which is being offered to the government officials of Pakistan on government to government basis, which includes human resources development mainly through training and capacity-building courses including short-term courses at Malaysian public and private training institutions, and long-term courses at Malaysian public universities.
The High Commissioner informed the Chief Secretary that after the COVID-19, Malaysia is expecting that about 16 million tourist will be visiting Malaysia during the current year. Ambassador Azhar further stated that the Government of Malaysia is launching the year 2025 as Visit Malaysia Year and the Government of Malaysia is anticipating to receive 26 million tourists. Both sides also discussed matters related to issuance of visa to Pakistani nationals. Ambassador Azhar assured full cooperation of the High Commission to facilitate the Pakistanis.
