Anwar says time for Malaysia-EU free trade pact
Published on: Saturday, March 16, 2024
By: Bernama
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia’s principled position of non-alignment puts the country in good stead to conduct trade and commerce with the East and the West. (Bernama pic)
HAMBURG: It is about time that Malaysia and the European Union (EU) rekindle discussion on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to further strengthen bilateral relations and regional integration, says Datuk Seri Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“The time is ripe for us to rekindle discussions on the Malaysia-EU free trade agreement,” he said, adding that with a FTA, Europe will be able to capitalise on Malaysia as a gateway to Asia.
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“We will facilitate the FTA,” he said.
Europe can leverage open market policies facilitated by the Asean FTA, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he said in an address at the 101st Ostasiatisches Liebesmahl at the Hamburg City Hall here yesterday.
The Ostasiatisches Liebesmahl is one of the most important events celebrating the country’s relationship with Asia. Some 300 prominent figures from the fields of economics, politics and diplomacy got together for this annual event.
Earlier in Berlin, Anwar and German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck had also discussed the FTA.
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Malaysia is currently conducting a scoping exercise with the EU, to determine the gap in the positions and stances of both Putrajaya and the bloc for the FTA that had been postponed since 2012.
The prime minister said Malaysia is not just open for business but also ready to cooperate, innovate and partner in high-quality ventures.
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Anwar, who is also the finance minister, took the opportunity to speak on Malaysia’s commitment to become a leading economy in Asia, as well as driving sustainable and inclusive development.
“Underpinning this is the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, which aims to reinvigorate Malaysia’s industrial landscape, focusing on adding value, with advanced manufacturing and high-impact investments,” he said.
He added that the national energy transition roadmap, on the other hand, embodies a forward-looking stance on environmental stewardship, outlining a comprehensive strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
On the geopolitical side, he said: “It bears stressing that our principled position of non-alignment stands us in good stead to conduct trade and commerce with the East and the West.”
Besides strong ties with Germany and Europe, Malaysia has also forged ties with China, Japan, South Korea, India and Australia.
“While detractors have conjured a ghost of past rivalries and are now even raising the spectre of imminent war, I do not subscribe to that line of thought,” he said.
According to Anwar, development, trade, and growth remain the main objectives for Malaysia, with the strategy of being proactive and anticipatory, rather than reactive and unprepared.
“This strengthens our resilience against geopolitical fluctuations, allowing Malaysia to be the sixth largest semiconductor exporter in the world,” he said.
He added that not having geopolitical concerns also allows Malaysia to export its energy.
“Sarawak is an important state, we export energy to the new Indonesian capital Nusantara as well as through an undersea cable to Singapore and another undersea cable to the peninsula.
“Hence, Malaysia is ready to support Germany’s energy transition through natural gas as a transitional fuel. This will balance Germany’s immediate energy security needs with long-term sustainability goals,” he said.
Anwar arrived in Germany on March 10 for a six-day official visit to the third largest economy in the world.
Germany has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner among EU member nations since 2000, while Malaysia is the largest trading partner for Germany among Asean member states.
In 2023, Malaysia’s total trade with Germany increased by 5.9% to RM63.45 billion (US$13.90 billion) compared with RM59.87 billion (US$13.62 billion) in 2022.
During his stay in Berlin, Anwar held talks with his German counterpart Chancellor Olaf Scholz besides paying a courtesy call on President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
He also visited the Siemens Energy plant in Huttenstrabe before engaging more than 35 captains of industry and potential investors from Europe at a business roundtable meeting.
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