Pakistan, Indonesia sign seven accords to expand cooperation as Subianto concludes Islamabad visit
Publishing date: 09 December 2025
Published in: Arab News
Pakistan and Indonesia signed seven memoranda of understanding on Tuesday to deepen cooperation in trade, higher education, halal certification and health, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad is seeking to improve export access in a bilateral trade volume of about $4.5 billion.
The agreements were concluded during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s two-day visit to Islamabad, his first to Pakistan since taking office and the first by an Indonesian president in seven years. The visit coincided with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
According to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, the MoUs include cooperation in higher education, an Indonesian state scholarship grant program, SME-business facilitation, collaboration between national archives, narcotics control and anti-drug trafficking, halal trade and certification, and health-sector partnership.
At a joint media address, Sharif said Pakistan wanted to adjust the structure of trade, which is currently dominated by palm oil imports from Indonesia.
“Our bilateral trade stands at $4.5 billion, more than 90 percent represents imports from our brotherly country, Indonesia, that is palm oil,” Sharif said.
“We have discussed how to take corrective measures to balance this balance of trade through agri-exports from Pakistan, through exports of our IT-led initiatives, and of course in many other areas where we can really do to fill this gap.”
Sharif also said Pakistan was also ready to supply medical professionals to support Indonesia’s expanding health sector needs:
“I want to assure you that whatever is possible for us in this behalf, we will do it without any delay and with great pleasure and most willingly.”
Subianto thanked Pakistan for the reception he received and said the MoUs represented expansion across multiple fields including trade, agriculture, education and science and technology. He noted that Islamabad’s support in the health sector was “strategic and critical”.
Separately, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, who is the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces, met Subianto to discuss regional security, counter-terrorism, capacity-building and defense cooperation, the military’s media wing said. Both sides reaffirmed their intent to expand military training and professional exchanges.
