Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone expressed his commitment toward obtaining halal certification for domestic products during Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to Laos this week.
Malaysia’s PM Anwar Ibrahim also promised to help Laos in expanding its range of halal products, to enable their export to the Middle East and other Muslim nations. This will be executed through Laos’ close collaboration with the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jakim).
“The halal certification process will be facilitated by Jakim and he (Siphandone) has shown great interest and would ask his officers to collaborate with Jakim to develop the halal industry in Laos,” PM Ibrahim told Malaysian media.
During this week, the two leaders witnessed the signing of MOUs between their countries across various sectors, so as to improve upon their bilateral relations. They also vowed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture, education, health, security, labor, banking and defence and discussed the possibility of soon resuming direct flights between the two countries.
The hydropower energy cooperation agreement between Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Electricite du Laos (EDL) is particularly interesting as it is expected to generate returns of USD 98.5 million to USD 492.8 million per year to TNB by 2025.
The Lao government has also assured its Malaysian counterpart of continued support for projects involving Malaysian companies in Laos. After China, Thailand and Vietnam, Malaysia is Laos’ fourth biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) contributor, primarily in the energy sector, free trade zone, automotive and banking sectors.
Laos and Malaysia first established diplomatic ties in 1966, and PM Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Laos marks the first by a Malaysian leader since 2016.
