Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wherein both sides, noting the long history of close bilateral cooperation, reaffirmed the commitment to strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership.

During the meeting, the two leaders held meaningful and outcome-oriented in-depth discussions in a “warm and cordial” atmosphere, according to a PM Office press release.

The discussion covered a wide range of bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest including those being faced by the Muslim Ummah. They also discussed the mechanisms to enhance bilateral cooperation to achieve concrete results in these areas.

Prime Minister Shehbaz congratulated the Malaysian prime minister on Malaysia’s upcoming Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025.

Prime Minister Ibrahim welcomed Pakistan’s continued engagement with ASEAN as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner and expressed support for further engagement between Pakistan and ASEAN as well as Pakistan’s larger role in ASEAN.

In setting the tone and future direction of bilateral relations between the two countries, the two leaders stressed the importance of dialogue and exchanges of visits at all levels and underlined the importance of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), Bilateral Consultations and other mechanisms to enhance engagement at all levels.