NEW DELHI: The governments of Malaysia and Pakistan are looking to boost trade between the two countries, officials said on Monday. “Pakistan was the second-largest trading partner of Malaysia in South East Asia last year. Therefore, both countries should make efforts to take these relations to a new level by aggressively exploring opportunities for joint ventures in various sectors," Malaysian High Commissioner Hasrul Sani Bin Mujtabar has said in statements published by The Express Tribune. Mujtabar said that Pakistan produces “good quality and affordable agricultural products. “Pakistani rice and mangoes have especially great demand in Malaysian markets, while Malaysia complements this with its expertise and access to ASEAN free trade agreements,” he added. The calls for boosting trade come as Malaysia continues to look for new markets to boost their trade margin and continue to move the country toward a high-income nation status, a goal of the current government in Kuala Lumpur by the end of the decade. The Malaysian high commissioner was “optimistic that bilateral trade volumes between Pakistan and Malaysia could be increased by exploring new avenues of cooperation.” He also said that his country “would increase the volume of imports of Pakistani agricultural products,” which he said would also “improve bilateral trade relations further between the two countries.” ICCI President Yassar Sakhi Butt said that the “current increase in bilateral trade between Pakistan and Malaysia followed the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries in 2007.” However, he noted that “Pakistan's share in bilateral trade is only $257 million, which has tilted the balance of trade heavily in favor of Malaysia.” He called for looking at how to create a balance in the current relations between Pakistan and Malaysia going forward.
