Malaysian High Commissioner Dr Hasrul Sani Mujtabar has said Malaysia is exploring possibilities to extend cooperation with Pakistan in education, agriculture, Islamic Banking, communication, infrastructure and other sectors.

Dr Hasrul Sani was speaking at a meeting with Lahore Transport Company (LTC) CEO Khawaja Haider Latif. Khawaja Haider said the LTC expanded the public transport system in the city. “It is a fact that transport sector is indispensable for robust economy. Pakistan has opportunities for foreign investors. Cooperation from China and Turkey in many projects has witnessed a considerable progress in transport sector. There are opportunities for Malaysian investors in Pakistan,” Khawaja Haider said. 

In addition various steps have been taken from time to time by the two countries to boost bilateral trade. The two governments have already entered into a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that has given a big boost to the trading relations between the two countries. Signed in 2007, this agreement is the first bilateral FTA between two Muslim countries and also Malaysia’s first bilateral FTA with any South Asian country, incorporating trade in goods, trade in services, investment and economic co-operation. As a result of this remarkable development, the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Malaysia has reached $2.8 billion, registering an impressive increase of 14 percent. It may be mentioned that though the bilateral trade has increased steadily, the balance of trade remains heavily tilted in favour of Malaysia. Nevertheless, this gap can be  easily balanced by increasing Pakistan’s exports to Malaysia, especially of rice, mangoes and beef.

Source: www.thenews.com.pk & www.brecorder.com