- ‘MoUs will be signed tomorrow (Friday) in the presence of the prime ministers of both countries’
ISLAMABAD: Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has said that Pakistan and Malaysia would sign joint ventures in telecommunication, technology, automobiles and halal food sectors.
Addressing a press briefing on ‘Visit of Malaysian Prime Minister’ along with Board of Investment Chairman Haroon Sharif on Thursday, Dawood said various memorandums of understanding (MoUs) would be signed during the visit of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said Pakistan greatly values transfer of technology and knowledge sharing partnership with Malaysia as it would increase the former’s productivity, develop human resource and technology base, and open a gateway to the East Asian economies.
He said both countries would begin a transformational relationship on a long-term basis.
“A signing ceremony of MoUs will be held in Islamabad tomorrow (Friday) in the presence of the prime ministers of both countries,” he announced. “The event will also be attended by top business leaders and policymakers of both countries.”
He said Malaysia, through strategic partnerships, is providing an opportunity to Pakistan by opening up the ASEAN market for trade and investment. He said ASEAN is a market of 651 million people with a GDP of $3 trillion and high human development index.
The advisor said Pakistan is ready to tap one of the largest commercial hubs of the world, as ASEAN enjoys healthy trade volume of around $2.6 trillion, services volume of around $703 billion and foreign direct investments worth $136 billion.
Speaking on the occasion, Board of Investment Chairman Haroon Sharif said the government would provide all possible facilities, including foolproof security, to the foreign investors. “We should adopt and follow international standards to increase our exports in different sectors,” he remarked.
He said Pakistan is already exporting Halal food products to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and other countries, adding the agreements with Malaysia in this regard to further uplift the sector’s exports.
