Islamabad: Pakistan and Malaysia are exploring a strategic alliance regarding the application of blockchain technologies, Shariah-compliant finance, and digital assets. This follows a high-level meeting in which Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), discussed this initiative with Foreign Minister Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan from Malaysia, as confirmed by Pakistan’s Finance Division on the afternoon of Tuesday.
This was a momentous occasion as the two countries began joint work on creating a Pakistan-Malaysia Digital Finance Partnership. The proposed framework will, therefore, not only be compliant with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) but also be in strict view of Islamic finance principles—potentially, even as a case study for the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
"The prospects for creating a historical alliance with regard to Pakistan's developing crypto regulatory landscape and Malaysia's strength in Islamic finance," said Bilal Bin Saqib, newly appointed Chief Advisor to the Finance Minister for the PCC. "We can develop ethically around products such as halal stablecoins, tokenized sukuks, and compliant regulatory sandboxes."
The two sides also reached an understanding on several key areas of collaboration, including coordinating regulations, cross-border Web3 education, and talent development. The Digital Finance Alliance further stands to empower the youth and further promote values-based digital financial inclusion.
Earlier this month, Pakistan appointed Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, as strategic advisor for PCC, thereby marking the firm resolve of Pakistan on emerging technologies. This growing partnership is part of a wider strategy for Pakistan to set up a formal crypto framework and take the lead in Shariah-compliant digital finance.
[Source Credit: Business Recorder]
