Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim will make an official visit to Pakistan from October 2-4, 2024, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as announced by the Foreign Office (FO) on Monday.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation that includes Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and senior officials, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss a comprehensive agenda aimed at strengthening Pakistan-Malaysia relations. Topics will include trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, the halal industry, tourism, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people interactions, along with regional and global developments.
The visit marks an important opportunity to enhance the historically rooted and culturally significant ties between Pakistan and Malaysia, being the first visit by a Malaysian prime minister in five years. The last visit was made by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in March 2019.
Mahathir had fostered close relations with former Prime Minister Imran Khan and initiated efforts to unite like-minded Muslim countries, hosting a summit in Kuala Lumpur in late 2019 that invited leaders from the Muslim world. Although Imran was invited, he ultimately withdrew due to protests from Saudi Arabia, which viewed Mahathir’s initiative as an attempt to form a new Islamic bloc. This incident led to unusual tensions between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
