October 26, 2009 19:20 PM

FTA With NZ Significant Milestone For Both Nations, Says Najib

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

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