Malaysia and Pakistan have reached an agreement to issue visas on arrival to officials of both the countries. The purpose of this is to further boost bilateral relations and promote and intensify the exchange of official delegations. This was announced by High Commissioner of Malaysia Ikram Muhammad Ibrahim.
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The high commissioner further said with effect from April 15, 2019, both countries have started to issue visa-on-arrival for their respective diplomatic and official passport holders. For such passport holders from Pakistan, the Malaysian Immigration Department will issue them social visit pass valid for a period of 30 days for each entry.
This is meant to promote and foster excellent engagement between the leaders and officials of both countries, in line with the new strategic partnership status. He said for holders of ordinary passport, including businessmen, they are still required to apply for the necessary visa (single entry, three-month validity, for up to 30 days) to be granted entry into Malaysia.
In this regard, the most suitable approach is for them to submit the application through the Malaysian eVisa Portal costing $31 and approval within 48 hours – subject to terms and conditions.
Talking about recent business ventures, he said through a joint venture with Japan, Malaysia began producing its own cars in 1985. Subsequently, Malaysia has acquired the necessary technology and expertise to indigenously develop 100% of its own passenger vehicles in various classes.
Presently, Malaysia is the only Muslim country that falls under this unique category and, naturally, Pakistan is an appropriate South Asian partner in this new endeavour. With an initial investment of $30 million, the Proton-Al Haj Automotive assembly plant is being constructed at a Greenfield site near Karachi and is expected to be operational by the end of next year.
