ISLAMABAD, Oct 03 (APP): Pakistan Business Forum welcomed the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his three-day visit to Pakistan which may embark on a significant development for Pakistan towards ASEAN.
Talking to APP on Thursday President PBF Khawaja Mehboob ur Rehman said the two sides may discuss a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen Pakistan-Malaysia ties in diverse fields, including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, industry, tourism, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts. They will also discuss regional and global developments.
As bilateral trade between Pakistan and Malaysia was recorded at $1.5 billion in 2023-24. The major exports of Pakistan to Malaysia include rice, condensate oil, onions, potatoes, home textiles, corn, seafood, and meat, palm oil and its products, petroleum, LNG, computers and laptops, nonwoven wadding, and fiberboard.
Similarly, tourism between both countries has gained momentum over the past few years and Malaysia currently ranks among the top tourist source countries to Pakistan, the foreign office said.
Around 160,000 Pakistani nationals are residing in Malaysia and over 3,800 students from Pakistan are also enrolled in Malaysian higher education institutes, making the country the third largest source of international students in Malaysia.
PBF president also said Pakistan is one of the major workforce source countries for Malaysia in various key sectors including plantation, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and services.
PBF also viewed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Pakistan, also a crucial opportunity to address an important humanitarian and diplomatic issue, the signing of a long-awaited prisoner transfer agreement. A PTA would allow our nationals imprisoned in Malaysia to serve the remainder of their sentences in Pakistan, close to their families and communities. “This is a matter of protecting the fundamental rights and dignity of our citizens, many of whom are vulnerable and facing harsh conditions abroad”.
