Halal sector up for tie-ups between Pakistan, Malaysia, says Pakistan envoy

Pakistan and Malaysia have a huge potential to tap in their respective Halal sectors, mutual collaborations and business matchmakings could easily help both the countries tackle the food security issues.
“We are keen to explore collaborative possibilities in Malaysia’s livestock sector, as well as the Halal industry where Malaysia has the expertise,” said High Commissioner for Pakistan to Malaysia, Masood Khalid in an interview with Malaysia’s state-owned Bernama News Agency here in Kuala Lumpur.
“I expect food security to be one of our main concerns going forward. As such, both our countries need to start thinking along those lines,” he said, adding since Malaysia had developed an expertise in the Halal industry, it could consider combining forces with Pakistan to meet the needs of both countries, as well as other markets in the Middle East.
Commenting on the good relations between Pakistan and Malaysia, Masood said greater cooperation between the countries could be achieved in the fields of education, culture and economics, which would benefit both nations.
“Pakistan has always sought further consolidation, improvement in and development of friendly and brotherly ties with Malaysia,” he said.
Trade between Malaysia and Pakistan touched US$2.8 billion last year, which was a 14 per cent jump from 2010.
Masood said the countries also shared strong bilateral relations, and that Pakistani nationals living in Malaysia had always found the country to be very friendly, hospitable and warm.
“We enjoy staying here. Malaysia is doing tremendously well economically and in the field of tourism and is often cited as a desirable model for economic development amongst developing countries”, he added.
He also spoke about the twin challenges of militancy and extremism that were currently faced by Pakistan, noting that the country’s brave armed forces were helping to stamp out these disputes.
“Every country has challenges and difficulties. We have been facing the problem of militancy for some years now, but have managed to tackle the problem in the last two years”, he added.