FTA WITH NZ SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE FOR BOTH NATIONS, SAYS MALAYSIAN PM

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 26 (Bernama) -- Signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
between Malaysia and New Zealand today marks a significant milestone in trade
and investment prospects for the two countries, says Najib Tun Razak.

Speaking to reporters after a bilateral meeting with visiting New Zealand
Prime Minister John Key at his office here, the Prime Minister said with the
inking of the agreement, Malaysia was confident it would become a hub for New
Zealand businessmen and investors to venture into the Asean market.

" Hopefully, Malaysia will be used by New Zealand businessmen and investors
as a gateway to the Asean market," he said after a 30-minute meeting with his
New Zealand counterpart.

Najib said he hoped the FTA would spur more New Zealand companies to expand
their operations to Malaysia as all outstanding trade and investment issues
between the two countries have been resolved amicably.

" We had useful and positive discussions. We examined where we stood
especially on economic relations. Bilateral trade figures between the two
countries are strong.

" Two-way trade between the two countries swelled to RM6.15 billion
(US$1=RM3.38) in 2008 compared to 2006. Although bilateral trade volume has
dwindled this year, we believe this is a short-term setback brought about by the
global economic crisis. We believe total trade will be on the upswing in 2010,"
said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

Najib said he and Key also discussed cooperation in education between the
two countries which had traditional educational ties.

He said tourism links also looked promising despite the economic
uncertainties, with 56,000 New Zealanders visiting Malaysia last year.

" Our discussions also delved on other areas like defence. New Zealand wants
regional peace and security guaranteed. We are also looking for areas of
cooperation in science and technology and information and communications
technology (ICT),"he said.

Najib thanked New Zealand for its commitment towards the formation of the
East
Asian community and hoped the community would become a reality like the European
Union (EU).

He said the Malaysia-NZ FTA signed Monday would also cover environmental
collabrations as " environment is an important consideration for Malaysia."

" We want to work with New Zealand since it has an excellent track record in
this field. Furthermore, we are committed and gearing towards a green technology
era. We are keen to work with New Zealand on environmental issues," he said.

Key, speaking at the same press conference, said signing of the FTA would
provide a chance for New Zealand companies to venture into Malaysia and
vice-versa.

" We see this as an opportunity for New Zealand companies to come to
Malaysia
and vice-versa. It's important for us," he said.

Key said New Zealand will also like to expand relations in tourism as
Malaysia has been wooing about 1,000 New Zealanders a week to Malaysia.

The New Zealand Premier also said his country would work closely with
Malaysia as Wellington would continue to be an Asean dialogue partner for the
next three years.

-- BERNAMA