Business

Published: Friday October 23, 2009 MYT 3:46:00 PM
Updated: Friday October 23, 2009 MYT 3:47:40 PM

Free Trade Agreement marks new milestone in Malaysia-NZ ties


WELLINGTON: The Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (MNZFTA), scheduled to be signed on Monday, will mark a new milestone in relationship between the two countries which have had bilateral ties since the 1950's.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is to visit Malaysia and sign the deal with his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand, Datuk Hasnudin Hamzah said Key's inaugural visit to Kuala Lumpur, also highlighted the importance of Malaysia in his country's business and investment opportunities abroad.

"Key is bringing along a 70-strong delegation and this shows the importance New Zealand businessmen attach to Malaysia," he told Bernama here on Friday.

Hasnudin said the FTA would open up opportunities for stronger investment and economic ties, as what New Zealand Trade and Conservation Minister Tim Groser, is looking forward to.

The FTA signing comes into force in January 2010.It is in line with the Asean/New Zealand FTA that is also effective from January.

The bilateral agreement for which discussions started in 2005,involves goods, services, investment and customs procedures as well as economic cooperation.

New Zealand's main exports to Malaysia are processed food, iron and steel and paper and pulp products.

Malaysia's top exports are electrical and electronic products.

Malaysia is the seventh largest trading partner of New Zealand which exported nearly NZ$1 billion (RM2.3 billion) to the country in 2008 with two-way trade worth nearly NZ$3 billion (RM6.9 billion).

Hasnudin suggested that Malaysian businessman could capitalise on this, especially by interacting and understanding the culture of business in New Zealand and more importantly, bring this expertise back home.

"This is to meet New Zealand's recognised international standards and technical know how. Although the New Zealand market is small, the country is also the gateway to the Pacific," he said.

Hasnudin said apart from the FTA, there were two other sideline agreements, the Malaysia-New Zealand Agreement on Labour Cooperation (LCA) and Environment Cooperation Agreement (ECA),which are an integral part of it and signed here recently.

The ECA is mainly to establish a constructive framework for dialogue and cooperation on environmental issues of mutual interest in four areas - climate change, forestry, sustainable forest management and renewable energy and biodiversity.

The LCA is aimed at establishing a constructive framework for dialogue and cooperation on labour related policies such as the workforce, work place health and safety, welfare and worker training.

"The signings will allow the Ministry of Human Resources to step up cooperation with New Zealand on labour policy issues of mutual interest," Hasnudin said.

Malaysia is now actively negotiating bilateral deals with India, Chile and Australia.

It already has bilateral FTAs, in the form of economic partnerships, with Japan and Pakistan. - BERNAMA

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