Pakistan to import more Malaysian palm oil after Indian curbs, announce PM Khan

• The announcement comes amid India, the world largest palm oil importer put restrictions on Malaysia’s palm oil imports.
• Last year Pakistan bought 1.1 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia

Pakistan will import more palm oil from Malaysia, after Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday announced that his country will try its best to compensate for Malaysia’s palm oil loss, during a two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation.

PM Khan’s announcement comes amid India, the world largest palm oil importer put restrictions on Malaysia’s oil imports, in response to Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticism over atrocities committed by the Indian authorities in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

“We did talk about [the] sale of palm oil. Of course, Pakistan is quite ready to import more palm oil from Malaysia,” Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in a joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan in the Malysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Last year Pakistan bought 1.1 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia, the world's second biggest producer and exporter of the edible oil.

Earlier, the two countries signed an extradition treaty. The signing of extradition treaty was witnesses by PM Khan and PM Mahathir Mohamad. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Minister for Law in Malaysian PM Office Liew Vui Keong signed the treaty.

Speaking to the media, Qureshi said Pakistan and Malaysia have discussed ways to convert the close bilateral ties into bilateral economic strategic partnership.

The foreign minister added that Pakistan's remittances from Malaysia increased by 35 percent during 2018-19, adding that about $1.55 billion are being transferred to Pakistan.