Pakistan Reaffirms Support For Malaysia’s ASEAN Leadership - Pakistan PM Shehbaz

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- Pakistan has reaffirmed its strong support for Malaysia's chairmanship of ASEAN, expressing confidence in the country’s leadership to steer the regional bloc towards deeper integration, peace and prosperity.

Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif conveyed the assurance during his official visit to Malaysia at the invitation of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Both leaders, in a joint statement today, also welcomed the progress made in implementing the ASEAN-Pakistan Sectoral Dialogue Partnership: Practical Cooperation Areas 2024-2028.

Shehbaz, who arrived here yesterday for a three-day official visit, also expressed deep appreciation and sincere gratitude to his counterpart and the Malaysian government for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality extended to him and his delegation during the visit.

Both leaders also expressed optimism in expanding tourism cooperation, particularly in light of Malaysia’s Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) and Malaysia Year of Medical Tourism 2026 (MYMT2026) campaigns.

"Malaysia extended a warm welcome to Pakistani travellers, and the leaders agreed to enhance tourism promotion and cultural exchanges from both sides," according to the joint statement.

Anwar and Shehbaz recognised the importance of people-to-people ties and welcomed the positive contribution of the Pakistani diaspora in Malaysia to national development.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation in the area of labour, including technical training and skills development.

Shehbaz’s visit serves as a reciprocal gesture to Anwar’s official visit to Pakistan in October 2024, reflecting the deepening ties between the two nations.

Following the elevation of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership in March 2019, Malaysia and Pakistan, which established diplomatic ties in 1957, recorded total trade of RM8.07 billion (USD1.76 billion) in 2024, marking a 25.5 per cent increase from the previous year. 

Malaysia’s main exports to Pakistan include palm oil, petroleum and chemical products, while imports from Pakistan comprise agricultural goods, textiles, apparel, footwear and petroleum products.

-- BERNAMA