NEW SWEDISH ENVOY SEES HIS ROLE AS CRUCIAL IN BOLSTERING EU-ASEAN TIES

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram and Mikhail Raj Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- New Swedish Ambassador to Malaysia Niklas Wiberg sees his current role as pivotal to bolstering Sweden’s and the European Union’s (EU) ties with ASEAN, more so with Malaysia preparing to take on the regional grouping’s chairmanship next year.

He presented his credentials to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, as the Ambassador of Sweden to the country on Oct 21, 2024.

Wiberg said there is a definitive intention for the 27-member EU bloc, including Sweden, to foster closer political, economic and social ties with Southeast Asian nations.

According to him, EU countries would be in favour if Malaysia, as chair, could play a role in forging closer relations through mutual interests between ASEAN and EU.

To take relations to a higher level, “Sweden is looking into signing a treaty of amity and cooperation with ASEAN during the Malaysian chairmanship in Kuala Lumpur,” he said in an interview with Bernama.

He said there are several areas that would benefit from regional cooperation, including security matters, green transition and energy cooperation.

“Other than that, ASEAN can play a role in helping to contribute to resolving regional conflicts such as in Myanmar, which we are very supportive of,” he added.

-- BERNAMA