Malaysia To Strengthen Regional, Global Trade As ASEAN 2025 Chair -- MITI
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, as the chair of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025, will continue to play an active role in strengthening regional economic integration and positioning ASEAN as a competitive investment destination.
Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Liew Chin Tong said the ministry has outlined several Priority Economic Deliverables (PED), including the conclusion of negotiations to upgrade the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), which is expected to be signed at the 47th ASEAN Summit next month.
“Negotiations on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) are also expected to be substantively concluded by the end of this year.
“In addition, Malaysia, through ASEAN, is also strengthening cooperation with external partners, including the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China,” he said when winding up the debate on the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) for his ministry in the Dewan Negara today.
Liew said that ASEAN and the GCC have signed the ASEAN-GCC Framework of Cooperation (2024-2028), which focuses on key economic sectors.
In conjunction with Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship, he noted that the strengthening of ASEAN-GCC cooperation has been listed as one of the PEDs.
Additionally, the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-GCC Economic Cooperation -- agreed upon at the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit in May -- is expected to act as a catalyst in trade, energy, the digital economy and investment.
On the global trade situation, Liew stated that Malaysia chaired the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Special Meeting on April 10 after the United States (US) imposed reciprocal tariffs.
“As a result of the meeting, ASEAN reaffirmed its stance not to implement any retaliatory measures but instead to focus on bilateral negotiations,” said the deputy minister.
The meeting also agreed to establish the ASEAN Geo-economic Task Force (AGTF) to monitor global economic developments, assess risks and opportunities, and prepare the ASEAN Integration Report (AIR) as an important reference for the AEC Strategic Plan 2026-2030.
Liew said that Malaysia’s trade with the US only accounted for 13.2 per cent of the total exports worth RM1.508 trillion in 2024.
To mitigate the impact of tariffs, the government is, among others, optimising 18 free trade agreements (FTAs), negotiating new FTAs with Canada, South Korea, the European Union (EU) and the GCC, as well as exploring potential agreements with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The government is expanding export promotion to second-tier cities in ASEAN, conducting trade missions to Central Asia, West Asia, Africa and Latin America, and strengthening collaboration with foreign trade promotion agencies.
“The MADANI government adopts a calm and measured approach, a whole-of-government and non-aligned stance in strengthening the national economic agenda by trading with all countries, including world powers and major economic blocs,” Liew emphasised.
He said that the National Geo-economic Coordination Centre (NGCC) Steering Council has also been established to monitor and coordinate responses to changes in the global trade landscape.
-- BERNAMA