ISLAMABAD, MAR 22 (DNA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was presented a guard of honour at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad.

Flanked by PM Imran Khan, Mahathir arrived at the venue for the formal welcome. The ceremony started with national anthems of both countries followed by a guard of honour presented by a smartly turned out contingent of the armed forces.

The visiting dignitary will be conferred with Nishan-e-Pakistan, the highest civil award, at an investiture ceremony at the President House followed by a banquet dinner hosted by President Arif Alvi in honour of Dr Mahatir and his delegation.

The Malaysian PM arrived in Pakistan to attend the March 23, Pakistan Day, celebrations upon Imran Khan’s invitation.

The visit largely aimed at enhancing business-to-business contacts and using them for Pakistan’s outreach to ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Razak Dawood, Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, told a press conference in Islamabad.

During the visit, he said, businessmen from the two countries would sign $800 million worth of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in the areas of “telecommunication, technology, automobiles and halal food”.

Dawood said Pakistan wanted to increase its outreach to the far-eastern countries through Malaysia, because the country looked to change its ‘China-centric’ economic policies. “We believe Malaysia will be an opening for us to the ASEAN countries,” he said.