• Shehbaz-Ibrahim meetings yield promise of greater Asean role for Islamabad
• Leaders stress need to shed dependency on ‘one country, one system’
• Several accords signed; Kuala Lumpur offers more collaboration in defence, cybersecurity, tourism
PUTRAJAYA: The leaders of Pakistan and Malaysia resolved on Monday to reignite bilateral cooperation and move towards a more aggressive and forward-looking policy, including the possibility of collaboration under the umbrella of the Asean economic bloc.
The resolve came during the course of several meetings between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim. The former is currently on a three-day official visit[1] to Malaysia, where he spent a productive Monday, snapping up six accords and several trade and bilateral agreements.
His host, Malaysian PM Ibrahim, pointed out that relations between their countries, though long-standing, had become “somewhat stagnated” and need a renewed, practical approach anchored in clear policies, The Star Malaysia reported.
Speaking at the Pakistan-Malaysia Business and Investment Conference, he said the two countries should “work on existing partners, but to open up new avenues, and Pakistan is one of the countries that we look forward to [working with]”.
Anwar noted that Malaysia and Pakistan share deep cultural, educational and intellectual connections, but stressed that modern cooperation must also be grounded in economic pragmatism.
“We have traditional relations in trade and partnership. We have realised that dependency on one country, one system, will be futile. We need, therefore, to expand trade relations. That is why we will work for a strong, formidable Asean in terms of trade, in terms of investments,” The Star Malaysia[2] quoted PM Ibrahim as saying.
According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, PM Shehbaz congratulated his Malaysian counterpart on Malaysia becoming the chair of Asean, and thanked PM Ibrahim for reaffirming Malaysia’s support for Pakistan’s bid to become a Full Dialogue Partner of Asean.
Both leaders also agreed to remain in close consultation to follow up on the important decisions taken to enhance bilateral cooperation between both sides, as well as to keep each other informed of their perspectives on major international affairs.
Both leaders also held detailed discussions on major regional and international developments, including the situation in the Middle East.
The Malaysian prime minister also praised Pakistan’s constructive role in the ongoing peace efforts in Palestine, including US President Donald Trump’s recent initiative[3] for Gaza.
Meanwhile, both countries also agreed to further strengthen cooperation in defence, aviation, public health and cybersecurity as part of ongoing efforts to deepen bilateral ties.
In a joint statement issued following their bilateral meeting, both prime ministers expressed satisfaction with the strong and ongoing defence collaboration under the Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) established in 1997, The Star Malaysia reported.
“Cooperation between the two countries has been tremendously strengthened through high-level visits, regular bilateral meetings at ministerial and military levels, military-to-military engagements and defence industry linkages.
“Both sides also agreed to further deepen bilateral defence cooperation particularly in the fields of defence science, technology and industry, through knowledge and technology transfer,” the statement read.
Recognising the importance of aviation in fostering greater connectivity and promoting people-to-people exchanges, both leaders agreed to enhance air travel services and explore opportunities for increased connectivity between Malaysia and Pakistan.
“Efforts will focus on increasing air traffic rights to enable the expansion of flight routes and facilitating the growth of air travel, thereby strengthening economic, business and tourism ties between the two nations,” the statement read.
Anwar and Shehbaz also agreed to explore collaboration in healthcare, pharmaceuticals and medical devices with the aim of enhancing public health and commercial exchanges in these sectors.
Both leaders underscored the critical importance of regional cooperation in disaster management and risk reduction, and committed to enhancing the exchange of knowledge and best practices in humanitarian assistance, emergency response and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The leaders also expressed their commitment to enhancing cooperation in cybersecurity and efforts in combating trans-national organised crimes, terrorism, terror financing as well as cybercrime.
“They agreed to continue exchanging information and expertise to address emerging security challenges,” the statement stated.
MoUs signed
Officials from Pakistan and Malaysia also exchanged a number of pre-signed accords in different sectors.
An MoU on Exchange of Notes was signed between the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) and the Foreign Service Academy of Pakistan on cooperation in the field of training for diplomats.
Another agreement was signed on cooperation in the field of higher education, with the documents being exchanged by Pakistan National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain and Malaysia’s Higher Education Minister Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
Minister of Tourism of Malaysia Tiong King Sing and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar exchanged the documents of an MoU between the two governments for cooperation in the field of tourism.
Meanwhile, both countries also inked an MoU to expand cooperation in combating and preventing corruption. The documents were exchanged by Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Azam Bin Baki and National Accountability Deputy Chairman Bureau Sohail Nasir.
Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2025
References
- ^ visit (www.dawn.com)
- ^ The Star Malaysia (www.thestar.com.my)
- ^ initiative (www.dawn.com)