PAKISTAN- MALAYSIA RELATIONS

Malaysia–Pakistan relations refers to bilateral foreign relations between the two countries,
Malaysia and Pakistan. On 5 October 1965, Pakistan severed their diplomatic ties with Malaysia
when a Malaysian representative. Pakistan has its High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and
Malaysia has its High Commission in Islamabad. Pakistan has strong brotherly relations with
Malaysia. Both are members of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the
Commonwealth of Nations.

COUNTRY COMPARISON:

Pakistan officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a country in South Asia. It is the world’s
sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 212,742,631 people. In area, it is the
33rd-largest country, spanning 881,913 square kilometers (340,509 square miles). Pakistan has a
1,046-kilometre (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south and is
bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the far
northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's WA khan Corridor in the
northwest, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of 13 states
and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions,
Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a land
and maritime border with Thailand in the north and maritime borders with Singapore in the south,
Vietnam in the northeast, and Indonesia in the west. East Malaysia shares land and maritime
borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala
Lumpur is the national capital and largest city while Putrajaya is the seat of federal government.
Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country with a population exceeding 32,049,700. In
area, spanning 330,803 square kilometers.

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS:

The diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Pakistan were established in 1957 after the
former's independence. At its inception, the High Commission of Malaysia was placed in Karachi,
which was the capital city of Pakistan then. On 5 October 1965, Pakistan severed their diplomatic
ties with Malaysia when a Malaysian representative at the UN Security Council (to which
Malaysia had been elected in 1965) had taken sides in the Indo-Pakistani
war over Kashmir. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Z. A. Bhutto said "Malaysia has taken an immoral
position, has violated the solidarity of the African-Asian world”.

BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS

On 21 November 2018, Malaysia and Pakistan agreed to establish bilateral consultations between
the two senior officials of their Foreign Affairs ministry as the mechanism to intensify
engagements between both sides.

On 25 February 2019, the inaugural session of bilateral consultations between Malaysia and
Pakistan was held in Islamabad. The Pakistan side was led by Foreign Secretary while Secretary
General of Malaysian Foreign Affairs Ministry headed the Malaysian side. Detailed discussions
were held on regional and global issues including the situation in Afghanistan, Kashmir and
Palestine with the two sides reaffirmed their resolve to promote closer co-operation between them.

PARTIAL VISA ABOLISHMENT AGREEMENT (PVAA)

Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for partial abolition of visa between
the two on 20 November 2018. The signing of the Partial Visa Abolishment Agreement (PVAA)
will reinforce the positive momentum in the bilateral relationship by broadening contact at the
officials’ level between the two countries.

ECONOMIC RELATIONS:

Pak-Malaysia Business Council is playing a vital role in facilitating the business between the two
countries. Malaysia entered into joint ventures in Pakistan in the field of power,
telecommunication, oil exploration, edible oil refinery, dedicated jetty and the largest bulking
storage facility at Port Qasim. Dr Mahathir Bin Mohammad, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia,
initiated in the year 1993, three Joint Venture Projects. By the grace of Allah, all the three joint
ventures of Pakistan with Malaysia have performed very well.

PALM OIL:
Pakistan and Malaysia have strong business relationship since 1970 when Pakistan imported palm
oil from Malaysia for the first time. Palm Oil is the cheapest edible oil in the world and Pakistan
is benefited by this oil imported from Malaysia and Indonesia. Pakistan imports of Palm Oil are
continuously increasing. It was about 2.57 million tons in the year 2016, which increased to 3.14
Million tons in 2018. Malaysia has consistently been the top exporters of palm oil to Pakistan
during past three decades.

AUTOMOTIVE

On 31 August 2018, Malaysian automaker of Proton has signed an agreement with Pakistan's Al
Haj Automotive, to produce and assemble its electric and eco-friendly cars in Pakistan, the deal is
expected to bring in an investment of $200–300 million in the country. On 21 March 2019, Proton
announced to establish a manufacturing assembly plant in Pakistan, its first in the South Asian
region.

INVESTMENT & TRADE

On investment, Malaysia is Pakistan's third largest foreign investor behind China and United
Kingdom for financial year 2017/2018 according to statistics provided by the State Bank of
Pakistan.

In terms of bilateral trade, Malaysia is Pakistan's 16th largest trading partner while Pakistan is
Malaysia's largest export market in South Asia and the third for import destination.

COMMUNICATION

On 1 February 2019, Malaysian telecommunication company Axiata Group's subsidiary Edotco

plans to invest $250 million in Pakistan’s telecommunication infrastructure and digital sector.
Edotco Group, with an existing investment of $100 million, plans to further increase their
investment in tower infrastructure. The statement said that the group plans to add an investment
of $250 million in the next five years