According to a recent report, the Prime Minister of Malaysia arrived in Pakistan for a three-day state visit and Pakistan officials expressed high hopes for deals that will be settled with the popular Malay leader.
Malaysia was praised by Pakistani government officials who said the country is a gateway towards penetrating the massive ASEAN market.
The Pakistani Prime Minister and adviser of Commerce noted that the meeting marked the strengthening of the ties between the two countries.
MoUs worth $900 to be signed
The two sides will sign around $900 million worth of deals covering various tech sectors and agriculture, it was reported. The Pakistani government believes Malaysia will serve as a conduit to the ASEAN region.
The Pakistan-Malaysia deal is expected to cover non-tech sectors including agriculture, halal food, textile, and power generation.
In the massive technology industry, the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) will include telecom services and information tech.
A statement from the Foreign Office reportedly stated that part of the agreement is a one-on-one meeting between the two country leaders and delegation meetings to further discuss the deals. One session of round-table talks between delegations from both sides will also be held in front of the country’s leaders.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated delegation talks, it was revealed that five MoUs will be signed between the parties that involve company leaders from Malaysia and Pakistan.
Other aspects of the Malaysian Prime Minister’s visit
As part of the last stretch of his state visit, the Malaysian chief will attend the ground-breaking ceremonies of a Proton manufacturing plant in Sindh province. The ground-breaking is part of an agreement signed between Malaysia’s Proton and a Pakistani partner last year. The facility will be the carmaker’s first in South Asia.
Analysts believe the enhanced ties between Malaysia and Pakistan will help improve the latter’s export activities. Since August, Pakistani officials have been reaching out to other nations in a bid to shore up foreign investments and financial deposits.
Malaysia’s IR 4.0 goals
As analysis indicates, technology, human capital, global trade and networks, and institutional frameworks are key drivers of production for Industry 4.0.
Malaysia’s ranking in each of these drivers emphasises priorities in technology, human capital and institutional frameworks.
Under the National Policy on Industry 4.0, Malaysia is working to strengthen institutional frameworks which underpin the role of Government in creating the right ecosystem and facilitating collaborative platforms.
Moreover, on global trade and investment, Malaysia is already well-integrated into regional value chains and exhibits a very good trade infrastructure, which is reflected in its strong global ranking (7th). This means makes it an ideal candidate for being an international tech and innovation hub.
The region is working to attract stakeholders to Industry 4.0 technologies and processes, and further increase Malaysia’s attractiveness as a preferred manufacturing location. More specifically, Malaysia envisions itself as becoming the strategic partner for smart manufacturing and related services in the Asia Pacific.
The MoUs scheduled to be signed between Pakistan and Malaysia are clear evidence that Malaysia’s investments in driving IR 4.0 are paying off; ensuring the continued relevance and importance of Malaysia in global and regional production value chains.
Moreover, this move helps to bolster Malaysia’s vision for being the primary destination for high-tech industry, to remain the preferred manufacturing location for leading global and regional players.
