Malaysia seeks industrial cooperation with Pakistan

Islamabad:Syafik Firdaus Hasbullah, Deputy Head of Mission for Malaysia, has called for increased cooperation between Pakistan and Malaysia in defence and security, science and technology, renewable energy and climate change besides education, culture and people to people contact.

Hasbullah was addressing an event organised here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Hasbullah noted that Malaysian exports to Pakistan mainly focused on the agricultural sector, textiles and chemical products, with less emphasis on high-tech industrial cooperation.

While identifying the core areas of cooperation between the two countries, he stressed the need for improving the quality of products to meet the competitive demands. He observed that the Malaysian government was prepared to assist Pakistan in improving the quality of its goods, including providing training and guidance to Pakistani businesspersons through the Malaysian Technological Cooperation Program (MTCP).

He specifically mentioned that since the establishment of MTCP in 1980, more than 700 people from Pakistan benefitted from its courses which included tourism, anti-corruption, counterterrorism, palm oil industry, Islamic finance, technical training and the halal industry, he added.

During his presentation, Mr Hasbullah highlighted the progress in the Pakistan-Malaysia bilateral relationship since its inception in 1957, emphasising cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, education, health and science and technology. He also expressed the view that the current bilateral trade volume of around $1.78 billion does not reflect the strong bond between the two countries and its people, and therefore, both countries need to work on high tech industrial cooperation between the two countries. "Being a sectoral dialogue partner of the ASEAN Regional Forum, Pakistan has significant opportunities to collaborate with Malaysia, and other members of the organisation," he emphasised.

He noted that following the Free Trade Agreement, Malaysian palm oil exports to Pakistan surged, alongside imports from Pakistan of agricultural products, textiles, apparel, footwear, fresh or frozen seafood, chemicals and other manufactured goods. The event drew gathering of foreign diplomats, government officials, academics, journalists and students.