Islamabad: Dato Muhammad Azhar Mazlan, Malaysian High Commissioner to Pakistan, has emphasized the importance of further strengthening Pakistan–Malaysia economic relations by expanding cooperation in trade, investment, and people-to-people linkages, particularly in emerging and high-potential sectors.
He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), headed by its President Sardar Tahir Mehmood, which held a meeting with the High Commissioner at the Malaysian High Commission. The ICCI delegation comprised Senior Vice President Tahir Ayub, Vice President Irfan Chaudhry, and Convener ICCI Standing Committee on ASEAN, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali.
The Malaysian High Commissioner appreciated the proactive role of ICCI in promoting business-to-business engagement and reaffirmed Malaysia’s strong commitment to deepening economic collaboration with Pakistan. He said Malaysia attaches great importance to Pakistan as a key economic partner and stressed the need for enhanced interaction between the private sectors of both countries. He also agreed to visit ICCI at the earliest to hold direct interaction with the business community of Islamabad. Both the sides agreed to undertake collaborative efforts to enhance the bilateral trade volume to $3 to 4 billion.
Speaking on the occasion, President ICCI Sardar Tahir Mehmood highlighted the longstanding and cordial bilateral relations between Pakistan and Malaysia. He acknowledged Malaysia’s significant commercial presence in Pakistan, particularly in palm oil, telecom, education, and the halal sector. However, he pointed out that despite strong ties, the trade balance remains tilted, underscoring the need to diversify Pakistan’s exports toward value-added goods and services.
The ICCI President identified the halal industry as a key area for immediate collaboration, proposing joint halal certification standards, establishment of halal parks, food processing facilities, and expansion of meat exports. He further stressed cooperation in the IT and digital economy, real estate, low-cost housing. He highlighted the importance of joint ventures for value addition in the agriculture sector and proposed structured B2B matchmaking between Pakistani and Malaysian companies to accelerate partnerships.
Senior Vice President ICCI Tahir Ayub underscored the need to enhance agro-based exports, particularly mangoes, citrus fruits and other high-value produce—through greater focus on value addition, stating that such measures would not only boost export earnings but also generate mutual benefits for the business communities and people of both countries.
Vice President ICCI Irfan Chaudhry stressed that stronger institutional linkages and regular business exchanges would help translate goodwill into tangible economic outcomes.
The ICCI delegation proposed organizing a Pakistan–Malaysia Business Forum in Kuala Lumpur and holding sector-specific virtual B2B meetings as effective trade promotion mechanisms. It also proposed signing a Memorandum of Understanding between ICCI and relevant Malaysian chambers and establishing a joint working group to ensure effective follow-up and implementation.
Both sides agreed to work closely to convert discussions into concrete trade and investment opportunities and encouraged Malaysian entrepreneurs to get registered as ICCI members. The ICCI delegation formally invited the Malaysian High Commissioner to visit ICCI and engage directly with the business community of Islamabad. Convener ICCI Standing Committee on ASEAN, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali also shared his insights on the occasion.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
