ID :
168179
Tue, 03/15/2011 - 04:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/168179
The shortlink copeid
FTA WITH EU TO BOOST MALAYSIA'S ECONOMY BY 7.5 PCT, SAYS MINISTER
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- The bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Malaysia and the European Union (EU) next year is expected to boost the country's economy by 7.5 per cent.
International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said
the growth would be mainly come from the services and manufacturing sectors.
"The EU is one of our major trading partners. Last year, the EU ranked fourth largest trading partner with our total trade recording a strong growth of 11 per cent to reach RM122.9 billion (US$1=RM3.03).
"The EU is also one of our major sources of foreign investments with Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as leading foreign investors in the manufacturing and services sectors," he told reporters after meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucth here Monday.
Karel said the FTA would be quite ambitious as the EU was working towards a comprehensive agreement covering a substantial elimination of import duties on goods, and access to the services and investment markets and government procurement.
"We really hope that we are in a position to conclude the negotiation quickly because this negotiation will also give a considerable boost to the EU economy.
"The ultimate goal of both parties is to create more job opportunities and send a very strong signal of confidence to traders and investors from Europe and Malaysia," he said.
He said Malaysia was an important trading partner of the EU and its second largest trading partner in the Asian region.
Meanwhile, Mustapa gave an assurance that in any FTA egotiations, the government would always be mindful of the position of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Nevertheless, he urged the SMEs to be more competitive as they might be affected by this FTA.
International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said
the growth would be mainly come from the services and manufacturing sectors.
"The EU is one of our major trading partners. Last year, the EU ranked fourth largest trading partner with our total trade recording a strong growth of 11 per cent to reach RM122.9 billion (US$1=RM3.03).
"The EU is also one of our major sources of foreign investments with Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as leading foreign investors in the manufacturing and services sectors," he told reporters after meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucth here Monday.
Karel said the FTA would be quite ambitious as the EU was working towards a comprehensive agreement covering a substantial elimination of import duties on goods, and access to the services and investment markets and government procurement.
"We really hope that we are in a position to conclude the negotiation quickly because this negotiation will also give a considerable boost to the EU economy.
"The ultimate goal of both parties is to create more job opportunities and send a very strong signal of confidence to traders and investors from Europe and Malaysia," he said.
He said Malaysia was an important trading partner of the EU and its second largest trading partner in the Asian region.
Meanwhile, Mustapa gave an assurance that in any FTA egotiations, the government would always be mindful of the position of local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Nevertheless, he urged the SMEs to be more competitive as they might be affected by this FTA.
