SPEECH

 

BY

 

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM

PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

 

FOR

 

PAKISTAN – MALAYSIA

BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE

 

 

 

      6^th OCTOBER 2025 (MONDAY) I 5.00 PM – 6.00 PM

        INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

 

 

 

 

Assalammualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

 

Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil ‘alamin,

Nahmaduhu Wa Nusalli Ala Rasoolilah Kareem,

Wa ‘ala alihi wasahbihi ajma’in.

 

My dear brother, Prime Minister,

Excellency,

He’s calling me Excellency. Respond. Shehbaz Sharif;

 

Prime Minister,

Deputy Prime Ministers,

Ministers, ladies and gentlemen.

 

1. We are here today to continue the support and to ensure that the collaboration understanding between leaders and governments can be effectively executed at the business investments, the private sector.

 

2. As you know, countries where they propel economic growth would ultimately focus on trade investments and collaboration which extend beyond diplomacy.

 

 

3. And therefore, I fully endorse what was said by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the need to support the enterprises and the role of government missionary government departments is to ensure that it is efficiently executed at the pace which is fast and not through normal bureaucratic channels.

 

4. How do you do that? Well, we have done it precisely. It requires political commitment. It’s not enough to say we are great friends. We are, everybody knows that long standing partner for Malaysia – Pakistan. We should say Malaysia – Pakistan “Zindabad”. “Dosti ka haath kabhi khali nahi hota” — the hand of friendship is never empty.

 

5. Other than the “Mohabbat”, “Zindagi”, wajib for us to know, anyway. But beyond that, how do we concretize? We are living. Everybody keeps on talking about unprecedented times, contentious trade policies, geopolitical conflicts and then new tariffs imposed. Big power rivalry.

 

6. Everybody knows that, but what do we do? I think dealing with these issues we need therefore first domestic resilience. This is my firm belief, politically stable, clarity of economic policies and an efficient mechanism to enforce and ensure that decisions are made and the process accelerated.

 

7. And then the economic resilience cannot be just domestic. We have traditional relationship trade partnership. We have realized that the dependency one country, one system would be futile. We need therefore to expand the trade relations. That’s why we work here. A strong formidable ASEAN in terms of trade, in terms of investments, connectivity, power grid: Vietnam to here, Malaysia to Singapore, Sarawak to Malaysia to Singapore and to Sabah and Indonesia and the Philippines. But that’s how we work. We work using the regional strength.

 

8. But is that enough? It’s not enough. Therefore, we explained in the other Islamic countries. Now we are quite involved with BRICS. We have strong bond in the policy of centrality to engage with both the United States and China. We have had Xi Jinping here last few months and end of this month we’ll have President Donald Trump with Premier Li Qiang and the other leaders from ASEAN including Ramaphosa, South Africa and Lulu of Brazil.
9. Which means we have to expand the trade. It is expedient for our own survival as a trading nation. So that is why I am particularly encouraged when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said we need to do more.

 

10. Yes, we have had excellent relations in the past. When I was in the—many of you may know that I was in the previous government before I was given this long leave of absence. Too long, I’m afraid. But anyway, even from those days, relations were good. We had hundreds or thousands of students in Pakistan, with good trade relations. Some of your research, nuclear facility far more advanced than us, and we benefited because, based on that trust, you know, cordial relations between the two countries, but somewhat stagnated, and it’s time that we wake up and embark on this more aggressive policy for our own survival.

 

11. As again I said, Malaysia is a trading nation. We would have to work on existing partners, but to open up new avenues. And Pakistan is, of course, one of the countries that we will look forward to. We share so many things in common—biased because I think one of the most profound statesmen that I admire is, of course, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, for his visions, his foresight, for his brilliance and articulation of issues.

 

12. And, of course, one of the greatest scholars of our times, Muhammad Iqbal, Allama Iqbal—unfortunately I read the original version Urdu, Asrar-i-Khudi, which was summarized by the Prime Minister this afternoon, called Javid Nama, which we translated.

 

13. And, of course, one of the most compelling arguments for the survival of the Ummah: Tajdeed against Taqlid, in his magnum opus “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam” — brilliant, moderate, creative thought, and which I think is relevant not just for Pakistan but for the ummah and for the world.

 

14. Now, there place, my association. I think when I retire, if the Prime Minister is kind enough to appoint me as a visiting professor to one of the universities, I would love to do that in Pakistan.

 

15. But having said that, the fundamentals are still economics, trade, and investments, and that’s where I must confess we are a bit—not to say depressed, but we have to say with regret—that we are not doing enough.

 

16. So, it’s a challenge to me, to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of course DPMs and the Minister, to push this agenda ahead. And I must thank you for this support, all the way from Pakistan and some from here.

 

17. And I will say this in conclusion, I don’t compete with Prime Minister Shehbaz, so I will conclude at this stage.

 

18. To see that rarely you find two Prime Ministers give this vision and this commitment, doing whatever is necessary to see, in the most unequivocal terms, that we want this venture, this collaboration between government and the private sector to work.

 

19. And take it from me, I’m saying this with firm commitment, whatever is necessary to do to encourage you, to ensure that you invest here and we invest in Pakistan, we trade with one another, and of course, on a competitive commercial basis. But still, we will certainly facilitate the process.

 

شکریہ shukriya.