KARACHI: Malaysia’s Consul General Herman Hardynata Bin Ahmad has said that an 18-member trade delegation will arrive next week to explore possibilities of enhancing trade ties with their counterparts in Pakistan.

Addressing the members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), he requested the chamber to arrange business-to-business meetings with members of the Malaysian delegation belonging mostly to food, agriculture, cosmetics, textiles and some other sectors.

He also asked the chamber to invite dry fruits exporters in the proposed B2B meetings who may succeed in striking deals with Malaysian businessmen for exporting local dry fruits to Malaysia.

According to KCCI’s press release, the envoy said we are also going to have a Malaysian trade office in Karachi which will be activated by the end of this year.

The presence of a Malaysian trade representative will certainly improve trade ties with the business community of Karachi.

A Malaysian Airline will also be commencing direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Karachi by the end of this year, he said, adding that we are trying our best to timely complete all the formalities for direct flights between Karachi and Kuala Lumpur this year.

The Free Trade Agreement between the two countries is being refreshed by adding more tradable items to the lists to help in dealing with the stagnant trade volume.

Published in Dawn, Aug 5th, 2023