Dr.Syed Mehboob
Economic and Political analyst
http//: www.thenewslark.com
email: drmehboob.thenewslark@gmail.com
Pakistan and Malaysia are two friends, brothers, supporters of each other on various global and regional issues, partners for peace, and harmony, promoters of tolerance, education, dialogue, and unity of Muslim Ummah. Both countries’ friendship is not only at the higher level but also at the people’s level. One of my students Dr. Zubair Naseem did his Ph.D. in finance from a Malaysian university and he admires Malaysian education standards, hospitality, and love for people of Pakistan from Malaysian brothers and sisters. Malaysian economic development, and advancement in education, science, and technology are astonishing and need to be followed by other Muslim countries.
It is a matter of great pride and happiness for the whole of Pakistan that Malaysian Prime Minister His Excellency Dato Sen Anwar Ibrahim is visiting Pakistan from 2nd October to 4th October 2024. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Senior 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. They will also discuss regional and global developments.
Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim when arrived in Islamabadaccompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato Seri Utama Haji Mohammad bin Haji Hassan, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zarful Tengku Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Haji Hasbi bin Haji Habibollah, and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department of Religious Affairs, Senator Dr Zulkifri bin Hasan.
Both the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Malaysia are holding talks on trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and the halal industry, and there will be a signing ceremony for two important documents, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Matrade and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, and a letter of cooperation between the Malaysian Communications and Multimer Communication (MCMC) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will also be signed.
During this visit, three translated works of Allama Muhammad Iqbal originally in Persian, Urdu, and English will be launched in Basha Melayu. Malaysian Prime Minister is also scheduled to deliver a lecture at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), where he will be awarded an honourary doctorate in philosophy.
Prime Minister of Malaysia His Excellency Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian award, Nishan e Pakistan by President Asif Ali Zardari.
Malaysian Prime Minister was given a 21 Gun Salute echoed in the background as a gesture of warm welcome and a guard of honour was also presented to him by the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was born on 10th August 1947. He is the 10th and current Prime Minister since 24 November 2022. He served as the 12th and 16th Leader of the Opposition from 2000 to 2015 and again from 2020 to 2022. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia. He has been graduated from the University of Malaya and served as president of the National Union of Malaysian Muslims.
In 2023 the Holy Quran was burnt by a terrorist in Sweden and on January 2023 Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced to print of One Million copies of the Quran to be distributed worldwide. Anwar Ibrahim has a great wish for peace to be completely restored in Palestine and condemned the genocide efforts of Israel in Gaza.
Pakistan and Malaysia have historically enjoyed close and cordial relations. Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Malaysia in 1957. It is noteworthy that Justice Abdul Hamid of Pakistan played a historical role in drafting Malaysia’s constitution as part of the Reid Commission.
Ever since the two countries have come a long way in consolidating relations in diverse areas, and bilateral relations have grown from strength to strength across various spheres including economy and trade, manpower exports, education, and cooperation in the international arena, and further exemplified by frequent exchange of high-level visits.
The two countries mostly share similar perspectives on world affairs and often take coordinated positions on issues of mutual concern and interest at various international fora including the United Nations, OIC, D-8, and NAM. Malaysia supported Pakistan in acquiringa Sectoral Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN, membership of ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum) and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) as well as observer status at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
Pakistan and Malaysia have established several cooperation mechanisms at the political, economic, and defence levels. Both countries have also signed Free Trade Agreement (Malaysia Pakistan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) as well as various other MoUs/Agreements across diverse domains.
Bilateral trade has gained momentum over the past few years and was recorded at US$ 1.5 billion in 2023-24. Pakistan’s major exports to Malaysia include rice, condensate oil, onions, potatoes, home textiles, corn, seafood, and meat, whereas chief imports include palm oil and its products, petroleum, LNG, fiberboard and laptops, nonwoven wadding, and fiberboard, etc.
Tourism between both countries has gained momentum over the past few years and Malaysia currently ranks amongst the top tourist source countries to Pakistan. Malaysian tourists take a keen interest in exploring the wonderful landscapes and the rich cultural heritage of Pakistan, whereas Pakistan has also gained a reputation amongst Malaysian Buddhist and Sikh communities as a major destination for religious tourism.
There are an estimated 160,000 Pakistani nationals residing in Malaysia, belonging to various walks of life. Over 3800 Pakistani students are studying in higher education institutes in Malaysia, making Pakistan the 3rd largest source of international students in Malaysia.
Pakistan is also one of the major workforce source countries for Malaysia in various key sectors including plantation, construction, manufacturing, agriculture and services, etc.
It is a great development that the Malaysian Prime Minister is on a historic visit to Pakistan at a time when there are certain conflicts across the globe. The visit will open new opportunities for our economy. We must be hopeful for the positive outcomes of Pak-Malaysia ventures in the long run. Pakistan-Malaysia relations are based on common values, mutual respect, and enduring friendship. There exist many areas where Malaysia is a good experience and Pakistan may learn from Malaysia. There also exist some areas, where Pakistan can contribute to Malaysian development. Thousands of Pakistani youth are studying PhD and Master level programs in Malaysia. Malaysia has become one of the major contributors to human resource development for Pakistan. Malaysia has great expertise in halal foods whereas Pakistan has huge potential in halal food, which will be exploited fully in collaboration with Malaysia. Through SIFC, Malaysia can invest in different sectors of our country including IT, agriculture, and many others.
