Vast potential for collaboration with Pakistan in halal industry, says Anwar

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, with his Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif, at the Pakistan prime minister’s official residence in Islamabad today. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said there is vast potential for further collaboration with Pakistan in areas like the halal industry and Islamic finance, as trade between the two nations continues to flourish.

The current annual trade volume between the two nations is nearly US$2 billion (RM8.4 billion), driven by key industries such as those involving palm oil and textiles, a sum which Anwar described as 

commendable

.

Anwar, who is on a three-day state visit to Pakistan, said the two countries could 

blaze a trail

 on innovative financial instruments, Bernama reported.

Putrajaya and Islamabad could also foster greater participation in shariah-compliant investments and in positioning Islamic finance as a global ethical alternative.

These efforts must go hand in hand with initiatives on climate change policies, environmental protection and an overarching earnest conviction to make our planet Earth a better place,

 he was quoted as saying.

Currently, Malaysia’s exports in the halal industry are valued at US$7.65 billion. The government has since set an annual export target of US$12 billion in the halal food sector by 2025.

Meanwhile, Anwar said Malaysia and Pakistan must also expand efforts to counter radical extremism, either through shared intelligence, strategic partnerships or joint counterterrorism initiatives.

He said both countries must redouble their efforts to combat the threat at its roots.

The task ahead requires a unified approach that goes beyond military and intelligence collaboration to include educational and social reforms that address the root causes of radicalism and extremism. - FMT