Islamabad (TDI): Malaysia and Pakistan have reaffirmed to enhance bilateral trade volume to between $3 and $4 billion through expanded cooperation in key economic sectors.
This commitment was reiterated during a meeting between Malaysian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dato Muhammad Azhar Mazlan, and a delegation of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), led by its President Sardar Tahir Mehmood.
The ICCI delegation also included Senior Vice President Tahir Ayub, Vice President Irfan Chaudhry, and Convener ICCI Standing Committee on ASEAN, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali.
During the meeting, High Commissioner Mazlan underscored the importance of deepening Pakistan–Malaysia economic relations by strengthening collaboration in trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges.
He emphasized the need to tap into emerging and high-potential sectors and appreciated ICCI’s proactive role in fostering business-to-business engagement.
Reaffirming Malaysia’s strong commitment to Pakistan, he described the country as a key economic partner and stressed greater interaction between the private sectors of both nations. He also agreed to visit ICCI at the earliest to engage directly with Islamabad’s business community.
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Speaking on the occasion, ICCI President Sardar Tahir Mehmood highlighted the longstanding, cordial relations between Pakistan and Malaysia, noting Malaysia’s substantial commercial footprint in Pakistan, particularly in palm oil, telecommunications, education, and the halal industry.
However, he observed that bilateral trade remains skewed and stressed the need for Pakistan to diversify its exports by focusing on value-added goods and services.
Identifying the halal industry as a priority area, the ICCI President proposed joint halal certification standards, establishment of halal parks and food processing units, and expansion of meat exports.
He also emphasized collaboration in IT and the digital economy, real estate, low-cost housing, and agriculture, particularly through joint ventures aimed at value addition.
Structured business-to-business matchmaking, he said, could accelerate partnerships between Pakistani and Malaysian firms.
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Senior Vice President ICCI Tahir Ayub called for enhancing agro-based exports such as mangoes, citrus fruits, and other high-value produce through improved value addition, noting that such initiatives would yield mutual economic benefits.
Vice President ICCI Irfan Chaudhry stressed that stronger institutional linkages and regular business exchanges were essential to translate goodwill into tangible outcomes.
The ICCI delegation proposed organizing a Pakistan–Malaysia Business Forum in Kuala Lumpur, holding sector-specific virtual B2B meetings, signing memorandums of understanding between ICCI and Malaysian chambers, and establishing a joint working group to ensure effective follow-up.
Both sides agreed to work closely to convert discussions into concrete trade and investment opportunities and encouraged Malaysian entrepreneurs to register as ICCI members, marking a renewed push toward deeper and more balanced economic cooperation.
