Malaysian Premier Ibrahim kicks off 3-day Pakistan visit

By Aamir Latif and Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim began his three-day Pakistan visit on Wednesday focusing on trade, energy and agriculture.

Ibrahim along with a high-level delegation comprising ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials, arrived in the capital Islamabad on Wednesday evening on his maiden official visit to the South Asian country since he took oath as premier in November 2022. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received Ibrahim.

Ibrahim will hold meetings with Sharif and other government officials.

The two sides will discuss a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen Pakistan-Malaysia ties in diverse fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, halal industry, tourism, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.

The two leaders will also discuss regional and global developments.

“Pakistan and Malaysia enjoy strong bilateral ties anchored in history, culture and faith. This visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Malaysia relations,” the statement added.

Kuala Lumpur and Islamabad shared a bilateral trade volume of $1.5 billion in 2023-24 amid an increase in mutual trade over the past six years.

Pakistan’s exports to Malaysia were $461.96 million in 2023, while Malaysian exports to Islamabad were $961.44m during the same period.

Malaysia mainly exports palm oil, petroleum gas and margarine to Pakistan, whereas Islamabad exports rice, corn, textiles and vegetable products to Kuala Lumpur.

The two sides have also signed Free Trade Agreement (Malaysia-Pakistan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), aside from various other memorandums of understanding (MoUs)/agreements across diverse domains.