WARSAW - Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was to begin today a four-day visit to Poland which included talks on weapons purchases, official Polish sources said Tuesday.

Mahathir and Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak were scheduled to attend a weapons demonstration by an armored unit on Thursday near Warsaw, according to the Polish defense ministry.

The revue of a Polish naval unit on the Baltic Sea coast was also planned.

Poland "has for some time negotiated with Malaysia the sale of tanks based on the PT-91 model," said a defense ministry source.

The size of the order and possibly a credit to finance the purchase of the Polish-designed tank require futher discusssion, said the source who requested anonymity.

Center for automobile supplies

Earlier yesterday in Berlin, Germany, Mahathir said that Malaysia wanted to be a major market for Germany and its gateway to southeast Asia.

Mahathir told an Asia-Pacific organization that Malaysia wanted to be a regional centre for automobile supplies.

He said Malaysia could be a gateway for Germany to the Association of Southeast Asian States (Asean).

"We will become a large market for you," Mahathir said.

Germany is Malaysia's foremost trading partner in the EU, ahead of Britain and the Netherlands.

Mahatir arrived in Germany on Monday for a visit focusing on the war against terrorism as well as bilateral trade.

He met with business leaders in the southern city of Munich.