Chargé d’ affaires of the Malaysian High Commission hosts a dinner in the honour of Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) alumni
Naveed Ahmad Khan
ISLAMABAD: Chargé d’ affaires of the Malaysian High Commission Deddy Faisal Ahmad Salleh hosted a dinner in the honour of Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) at Serena Islamabad. Former Ambassador Abdul Basit, Director General Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aamir Atozai, Ammad Rasheed Group Chairman Wings Group of Company and other dignitaries also attended the event.
Speaking on the occasion, Deddy Faisal Ahmad Salleh said MTCP reflects Malaysia’s commitment to SouthSouth cooperation, particularly technical cooperation among developing countries. Deddy Faisal further said, the programme was formulated based on our principle that the development of a country depends on the quality of its human resources. In addition, Malaysia sees MTCP integral towards strengthening mutually beneficial bilateral relations.
MTCP emphasizes human resources development mainly through training and capacity-building courses including short-term courses at Malaysian public and private training institutions, and long-term courses at Malaysian public universities. Annually, Malaysia’s flagship MTCP offers more than 60 technical training and capacity-building programmes in vast areas of development in collaboration with leading local training institutions and international development partners, he added.
He said, programmes such as agriculture, economy, finance and trade, education, environment, industrial technical training, diplomacy, public management and administration, professional services, social development and science, technology and ICT are offered by leading Malaysian training institutions, many of which are centres of excellence for training. ‘To date, more than 34,500 participants from 144 developing countries have benefited from the various programmes offered under the MTCP since its inception in 1980’. A total of 752 participants from Pakistan have benefitted from the programme. We aim to encourage more future participation from Pakistani officials in the MTCP, as it would not only be beneficial for our bilateral relations but it would also assist in the career development of the participants, he added.
Another good news for Pakistan is that this year 2 postgraduate students from Pakistan have been awarded MTCP Scholarship to do postgraduate study. The two of them will commence their study in University Malaysia Pahang and University Sains Malaysia respectively in the 4th week of October 2021. He said that Proton Pakistan, one of our flagship investments in this country, will inaugurate its first vehicle assembly plant in Zulfiqarabad next week on October 13th.
This event will mark the roll out of the first locally assembled SAGA in Pakistan. Saga which is an acronym forSafety, Achievement, Greatness and Ability is Malaysia’s number one car since its launch 35 years ago. The Plant is owned and operated by AlHaj Automotive, the Exclusive Authorized Distributor and also the Assemblers of PROTON vehicles in Pakistan. The opening of this plant will create 2,000 direct employment opportunities in its first three years of operation and it is estimated a further 20,000 indirect jobs will also be created as a result of this new plant being commissioned. ‘I place high hope that with the launching of this plant with its capacity of producing 25,000 unit of vehicle per annum will further strengthen economic ties between the two countries which currently stands at 1.39 billion US Dollars last year’.
He said the Malaysian government has lifted the entry restriction for Pakistani citizens with permanent resident status, longstay passes, businessmen investors, as well as students upon obtaining prior entry approval or My Travel Pass from the Immigration Department of Malaysia. Of course, with health protocols in check, all travelers needed to be fully vaccinated, undergo Covid19 testing upon arrival and be quarantined for the period stipulated for all foreign arrivals by the Health ministry