PM Imran says he regrets not attending Kuala Lumpur Summit

Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he regrets not attending the Kuala Lumpur summit held in Malaysia last December.

Addressing a joint presser alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday, the prime minister said, “

“Some of our close friends felt that the conference [Kaula Lampur Summit] would divide the Ummah, which was not the purpose of the conference. I feel that that it is the duty of the Muslim countries to educate the western countries and other nations about Islam.”

“We are working on media projects to dispel the notions about Islam,” the prime minister said. “We will develop content for young people about the message of Islam.”

‘Pakistan will try to compensate Malaysia’s palm oil trade loss to India’

Moreover, PM Imran said Pakistan will try its best to compensate for the loss suffered by Malaysia after New Delhi imposed sanctions on palm oil trade with Kuala Lampur.

India, Malaysia’s biggest palm oil customer, has imposed a ban on imports due to Mahathir’s strong criticism of Narendra Modi’s actions in occupied Kashmir and controversial citizenship law.

PM Imran also thanked his Malaysian counterpart for raising his voice on the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir which has been under lockdown for the last six months.

“A radical and extremist government has taken over India and has put the people of Kashmir in a prison. The Indian occupying forces have picked the Kashmiri leadership and locked up teenagers and put them in prison,” PM Imran said.

“The way you have stood with us and spoken about the injustice in the occupied valley, I want to thank you for that,” the prime minister said addressing the Malaysian premier.

Accord on strengthening ties

On the subject of his meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, PM Imran said the two countries will continue to work on strengthening their relationship. “We feel there are tremendous trading and investment opportunities between Malaysia and Pakistan.”

He said the idea was to develop a much closer relationship and also doing joint ventures in the defence sector.

The Malaysian prime minister who spoke earlier said that the two countries will continue to work on enhancing ties between the two countries.

The two sides agreed for regular discussions to strengthen the trade and investment relations by removing barriers in key areas. Both the sides also expressed commitment to build stronger ties in the areas of defence, law enforcement, tourism and education.

The joint presser between the prime ministers followed talks between the two leaders in Putrajaya. Both the sides signed a number of important agreements and Memorandum of understanding (MoUs).

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razzak Dawood and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood are accompanying the prime minister.

The prime minister arrived in Malaysia on Monday in what was his second visit to Malaysia since assuming office in August 2018. He had earlier visited Malaysia on November 20-21, 2018.

PM Mohamad visited Pakistan on March 21-23, 2019, and was the chief guest at the Pakistan Day Parade.

The two prime ministers also met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York in September 2019.