ISLAMABAD – A seminar, jointly organised by the Board of Investment (BOI) and Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) of Malaysia on investment opportunities in Pakistan, will be held in Kuala Lumpur on March 31, 2011, which has been in the works for several months.
This was indicated by High Commissioner for Pakistan in Malaysia Masood Khalid during a meeting with the Editorial Management team of the News Straits Times Press (NSTP) at their office in Kuala Lumpur, according to a message received from Kuala Lumpur.
He said that more than thirty top ranking Pakistani companies were expected to attend the seminar and interact with Malaysian counterparts for establishing business links and contacts to facilitate and explore business and investment opportunities in Pakistan.
The high commissioner said that Pakistan provides rich investment opportunities in sectors such as power, energy, construction, halal, education and agriculture which can be gauged from the fact that more than 600 foreign companies earning heavy profits on their investments in Pakistan.
He said that the arrangement of a seminar will not only strengthen exiting ties, but would also provide an opportunity to the Board of Investment to discuss in detail, business, investment and trade related policies of the Government of Pakistan and explain the facilitation mechanism being set in place by BOI to assist the foreign investors.
The High Commissioner stressed that Pakistan faced devastating floods last year, which badly damaged infrastructure such as roads, bridges, communication network, schools and hospitals. He encouraged Malaysian construction companies to step up to the plate and help the government of Pakistan in its reconstruction efforts.
He said that Pakistan and Malaysia enjoy fraternal relations and are presently cooperating in many sectors, adding, after signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2007 with bilateral trade showing an upward trend and within three years has touched $2.0 billion benchmark. Khalid said that Pakistan and Malaysia have enhanced their cooperation in agriculture, veterinary and halal sectors.
While elaborating, he said that during last year there were two MoUs and one letter of intent signed between the two countries to enhance cooperation in the field of agriculture. In the livestock sector, Pakistan is assisting Malaysia with regards to a pilot breeding project of Nili Ravi Buffalo of Pakistan and in the Halal sector. Pakistan will hopefully start exporting beef to Malaysia, he said.
It was revealed that a Malaysian delegation is expected to attend a three-day International Halal Conference being held in Karachi from March 1, 2011. He said there was ongoing cooperation in the education sector as well. While elaborating, he indicated that there were more than 2,000 Pakistani students studying in various disciplines in educational institutions of Malaysia with Pakistani universities actively working towards forging links with their Malaysian counterparts.
While referring to the achievements of the current government, the High Commissioner said that in Pakistan, parliament, government, judiciary and media are performing their respective roles in accordance with the constitution to ensure transparency and good governance.
During the discussion, the Group Editor Syed Nadzri Seyd Harun said in order to build better understanding between the media houses of Malaysia and Pakistan, a journalist exchange programme between the NSTP and a major newspaper in Pakistan can be considered which will provide an opportunity to developing cooperation and ultimately reduce the reliance on foreign news agencies.
