Pakistan PM to visit SE Asia

Pakistan PM to visit SE Asia

PAKISTAN: Pakistan prime minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali will
embark on a nine-day tour of Southeast and East Asia this week to
boost ties with the region, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Jamali will leave on Wednesday in a trip which will see him
stop off in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. He will also address an
economic forum in Hainan, China and address and investment
conference in Hong Kong, the ministry said.

"The prime minister's visit to Southeast Asia is a major step
toward the realization of Pakistan's Vision East Asia," the
spokesman said.

Pakistan's Vision East Asia "essentially envisages building
strong cooperative ties with Southeast Asian states, ASEAN and
associate closely with the important regional processes in the
broader Asia-Pacific region."

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. --AFP