GREAT POTENTIAL FOR TOURISM IN PAKISTAN

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- There is a great potential for Malaysian companies to venture into the tourism industry in Pakistan, its High Commissioner to Malaysia, Lt-Gen (rtd) Tahir Mahmud Qazi, said Sunday.

He said Pakistan was blessed with huge and varied natural landscape -- from
mountains to valleys to beautiful plains -- which could be developed as tourist
attractions.

What Pakistan lacked, he said, was modern amenities like good roads,
bungalows, chalets and resorts to turn it into an attractive tourist
destination.

"This is where Malaysian entrepreneurs and investors could come in and
contribute for mutual benefit," he told Bernama here.

Tahir said Pakistan was also a haven for shoppers where tourists could buy
excellent genuine products at very affordable prices.

He also suggested further refinement and promotion of religious tourism.

Tahir added that Malaysians going to Umrah or Haj via Karachi could break
their journey and visit the country or do some shopping.

He was looking into the possibility of seeking the assistance of both the
Pakistan International Airlines and Malaysia Airlines to provide such options.

Tahir said besides tourism there were other lucrative business, trade and
investment opportunities for Malaysians, such as in the field of housing and
construction, power generation and infrastructure development.

At the international level, particularly within the context of the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), he said, Pakistan was working very
closely with Malaysia.

One such collaboration was its participation in the Developing 8 (D8)
grouping where Pakistan would attend the forthcoming Food Security Conference
organised by Malaysia here.

The three-day conference starting Wednesday would also be attended by six
other D8 members namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.

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