Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi arrived on Tuesday on a three-day official visit, which will include talks with Pakistani leaders, officials said. During his stay, Badawi will meet President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to discuss "bilateral, regional and international issues", a Foreign Ministry official told AFP. "The visit will cover fresh ground in promoting economic and trade partnership between both the countries," he said.

Malaysia is actively involved in oil and gas projects, construction and communications in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Minister for Defence Rao Sikandar Iqbal and Chairman of Malaysia Airlines Dato Dr Mohamned Munir Abdul Majid met in Rawalpindi on Tuesday and expressed the desire to further expand bilateral air links and increase the number of frequencies between the two countries.

The minister told the chairman of the Malaysia Airlines that Pakistan attached special significance to its relations with Malaysia and desired to further expand and strengthen its ties with Malaysia in the field of economy, trade and tourism, which would tremendously benefit both the countries.

During the meeting, Dato Dr Mohamed Munir Abdul Majid said that both sides needed to explore possibilities for the enhancement of existing frequencies and code-sharing arrangements between the national carriers of Pakistan and Malaysia.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2005