Conclusion Of Malaysia-South Korea FTA Talks Can Be Catalyst For More FTAs Among APEC Economies

From Nor Baizura Basri

GYEONGJU (South Korea), Oct 29 (Bernama) -- The conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between Malaysia and South Korea could serve as a catalyst for more FTAs to be signed among member economies during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Week (AELW) here.

Malaysian Ambassador to South Korea Datuk Mohd Zamruni Khalid said this is because APEC, as a platform, has been promoting free and fair trade among member economies.

bootstrap slideshow

"In shaa Allah, by early next year, we hope everything will be ready so that the FTA between Malaysia and South Korea will be in place.

"Regarding this FTA, we really look forward to it because it has been under negotiation for a long time. We believe that the MKFTA, as we call it, will significantly increase trade and investment between Malaysia and South Korea," he told Malaysian reporters on Tuesday ahead of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s working visit to the republic.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, will undertake a working visit to Gyeongju this Thursday as he leads Malaysia’s delegation to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM), which kicks off on Friday.

bootstrap slideshow

Mohd Zamruni said last year's trade between the two countries amounted to US$24 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year that trade has surpassed US$20 billion. (US$1 = RM4.20).

"We can imagine that with the FTA we are going to sign with South Korea, total trade between the two countries would be much higher than what we have seen. Hopefully, this will serve as a catalyst for other countries to sign FTAs with one another within APEC. There should be free and fair trade among APEC economies," he added.

On Monday, both countries announced the conclusion of the Malaysia-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (MKFTA) negotiations, which cover, among other things, goods, services, investments, digital trade, the green economy, economic cooperation, and the bio-economy.

The MKFTA will be Malaysia’s 19th free trade agreement to date.

South Korea was Malaysia’s eighth-largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to RM109.68 billion, with Malaysia exporting mainly electrical and electronics products, liquefied natural gas, and petroleum products.

Meanwhile, South Korea exported petroleum products, electrical and electronics products, chemicals, machinery, equipment and parts, and iron and steel products to Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA