Malaysia, New Zealand Committed On Having 'scoping Exercise' To Strengthen Fta

LIMA (Peru), Nov 15 (Bernama) -- A “scoping exercise” to strengthen the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (MNZFTA) will cover new areas of cooperation such as digital trade and halal recognition, according to the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

In a posting on his X account on Friday, Tengku Zafrul said he is confident that close cooperation between Malaysia and New Zealand will open up new opportunities for the people of both countries as well as strengthen regional economic competitiveness.

Tengku Zafrul, who is in Peru to accompany Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM), met with Todd McClay, New Zealand's Trade Minister, to discuss opportunities to strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

"We discussed opportunities to strengthen economic ties between Malaysia and New Zealand. With strong bilateral trade relations, New Zealand is Malaysia's second largest trading partner in the Australasia region, with trade value reaching US$2.54 billion in 2023," he said.

Malaysia and New Zealand are also targeting a 50 per cent increase in bilateral trade by 2030, especially in the high-value manufacturing sector and the digital economy.

-- BERNAMA