ASEAN PEDs To Be Completed By End Of Malaysia Chairmanship, Elevating Region's MSMEs -- Tengku Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Most of the priority economic deliverables (PEDs) under the Malaysian ASEAN chairmanship 2025 are expected to be completed by the end of its tenure, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

He said the PEDs mark an evident move that Malaysia is committed to elevating ASEAN as a beacon of economic resilience, opportunity and regional cooperation.

Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia also takes the responsibility of elevating the region's micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) seriously by having the PEDs that champion their needs.

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This include catalysing access to climate financing; growing a more inclusive ASEAN capital market; establishing the MSME Centre of Excellence for green transition; and creating a strong digital economy foundation via the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA)

"As chair of ASEAN this year, Malaysia fully embraces the heavy responsibility of elevating and positioning ASEAN as a viable global convenor in an era of geopolitical discontent and geoeconomic disruption," he said during the closing of the DHL GoTrade Summit 2025 here today. 

Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the chief executive officer of DHL Express, John Pearson.

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According to Tengku Zafrul, MSMEs are the backbone of ASEAN and Malaysia’s economy and it is important to re-think and re-tune trade differently, particularly to help MSMEs shape, sustain or shift their strategy.

This, he said, is where the MADANI Economy Framework comes in.

“As part of its overarching mission to raise both the ceiling and the floor of our economy, MITI (Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry) has spearheaded many reform policies to ensure better depth and breadth of SMEs’ (small and medium enterprises) involvement in Malaysia’s industrial, trade and investment sectors.

“To build the country’s export resilience, we must transform our SMEs into “hidden champions” — globally competitive firms with niche expertise, homegrown technologies and innovations,” he added.

-- BERNAMA