MAFTA TO BE CONCLUDED BY EARLY 2012, SAYS AUSSIE HIGH COMMISSIONER

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia), July 25 (Bernama) -- The proposed bilateral Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) to provide for strategic economic engagement is expected to be concluded by early next year, Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Miles Kupa said Monday.

He was confident that the MAFTA would give Malaysia and Australia the chance to personalise their growing trade relationship even further.

"Trade is a central part of the Australia-Malaysia relationship.

"We are currently negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement, which the Australian and Malaysian prime ministers agreed, is to be finalised by early 2012," he said in his keynote address, "Australian Engineering - Building Bridges Between Nations", in conjunction with the Asean Australian Engineering Congress 2011 here.

The text of his speech was read by Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner (Malaysia and Brunei), Paul Martins.

Kupa said the conclusion of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Trade Agreement in 2009 was an important milestone in the trade relationship between Australia and Asia.

It was the largest trade deal Australia had ever entered into.

On the economic side, he said, Sarawak had consistently proved to a major destination for Australian investment.

He said a proposal by Rio Tinto Alcan to build a RM3 billion (US$1 billion) aluminium smelter near Bintulu, Sarawak, was a flagship investment that had strong links to Australia.

"We can also look to the significant investment in Sarawak by Australian company, OM Holdings, to build a major manganese smelter with local partners under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (Score) initiative," he added.

He said the projects would enhance Sarawak's economic growth and strengthen bilateral ties between both countries.

On education links, Kupa said there were currently about 22,000 Malaysians studying in Australia, with some 300,000 Malaysian alumni of Australian institutions over the years.

He said Sarawak was also at the forefront of educational ties between Australia and Malaysia, with the establishment of a Swinburne University of Technology campus here and a Curtin University campus in Miri.

"Australia is the number one destination for Malaysian students and
engineering remains a very popular subject area.

"This is not surprising given the developments in the Malaysian economy over the last two decades, including its infrastructure and key sectors such as automotive and petroleum industries," he added.

The three-day Congress which began Monday, is themed "Engineering for Sustainability". It is being attended by among others, engineers,
environmentalists, professional bodies, government and industry from 16
countries.