PUTRAJAYA, Oct 6 — Malaysia and Pakistan have agreed to further strengthen cooperation in defence, aviation, public health and cybersecurity as part of ongoing efforts to deepen bilateral ties.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakistani counterpart Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction with the strong and ongoing defence collaboration under the Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC), established in 1997.
"Cooperation between the two countries has been tremendously strengthened through high-level visits, regular bilateral meetings at ministerial and military levels, military-to-military engagements and defence industry linkages.
"Both sides also agreed to further deepen bilateral defence cooperation, particularly in the fields of defence science, technology, and industry, through knowledge and technology transfer," they said in a joint statement issued following their bilateral meeting today.
Recognising the importance of aviation in fostering greater connectivity and promoting people-to-people exchanges, both leaders agreed to enhance air travel services and explore opportunities for increased connectivity between Malaysia and Pakistan.
"Efforts will focus on increasing air traffic rights to enable the expansion of flight routes and facilitating the growth of air travel, thereby strengthening economic, business and tourism ties between the two nations," they said.
Anwar and Shehbaz also agreed to explore collaboration in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices to enhance public health and commercial exchanges in these sectors.
Both leaders emphasised the crucial importance of regional cooperation in disaster management and risk reduction, and are committed to enhancing the exchange of knowledge and best practices in humanitarian assistance, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.
Anwar and Shehbaz also expressed their commitment to enhancing cooperation in cybersecurity and efforts to combat transnational organised crimes, terrorism, terrorism financing, and cybercrime.
"They agreed to continue exchanging information and expertise to address emerging security challenges," the statement said.
Both leaders noted the active cooperation on key issues within the framework of international organisations, particularly the United Nations (UN), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Developing-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation (D-8).
They reaffirmed their commitment to mutual support for each other's initiatives and candidacies to international bodies.
