Malaysia and Pakistan should explore more opportunities in the halal industry, not only for their own domestic consumption but also in the international market, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said.

She also called on the business communities in both countries to look into opportunities in areas such as engineering, research, agriculture, meat and dairy products, education and tourism.

“Joint ventures and business opportunities are aplenty for our businessmen in these fields," she said when addressing the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (ICCI) conference on business opportunities and award presentation ceremony in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, pointed out that a myriad of opportunities could also be explored together by Malaysian and Pakistani businesswomen.

She said they could jointly venture into areas such as fashion, information technology, property, education, tourism and agriculture.

She said she was proud to see women entrepreneurs in Pakistan taking the lead in many projects, such as clean energy for the underprivileged and rural areas in their country as well as providing financial aid and education to women in villages.

Malaysia's trade with Pakistan rose 2.5 percent to RM5.91 billion in 2018 from RM5.76 billion in 2017.

However, in the first four months of this year, bilateral trade volume dropped 7.4 percent to RM1.83 billion from RM1.97 billion over the same period last year.

With Pakistan being a cricket powerhouse, the deputy prime minister hoped that the country would consider Malaysia as a venue for its cricket matches.

"This can open up even more opportunities for both our countries in terms of business, such as joint ventures in tourism, cuisine and merchandising," she said.

Wan Azizah also wished Pakistan good luck in the ongoing 2019 Cricket World Cup.

- Bernama