PETALING JAYA: Malaysia views the Asean-European Union Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (AECATA) as pivotal in restoring and revitalising the aviation and tourism industries said Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
"In my remarks during the Asean Transport Ministers Meeting and Associates Meeting (ATM), I said Malaysia views the agreement as pivotal in the era of post Covid-19 recovery to restore the aviation and tourism industries," the Transport Minister said in a Facebook post on Sunday (Oct 16).
He added that the agreement, to be inked during the gathering in Bali, would also revitalise the economy of Asean and the European Union (EU), which had been severely affected by the pandemic.
"This agreement should open up new growth opportunities for the aviation industries in both regions," he added.
He noted that the agreement, to be inked during the ATM, which will be the world's first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement among 37 member states of Asean and the EU.
Apart from this, Dr Wee said another important issue was the agreement between Asean members on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Cooperation.
He said Malaysia welcomed the initiative to boost cooperation in search and rescue (SAR) matters.
"This entails Asean members cooperating on a wide range of SAR-related exercises, information sharing and technical exchanges, and operations coordination," he said.
The 28th Asean Transport Ministers Meeting and Associated Meetings in Bali will be held on Sunday and Monday.
This was preceded by the 54th Asean Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) from Oct 14-15, 2022.
Transport Ministry secretary general-general Datuk Isham Ishak was representing Malaysia together with ministry officials.
Besides Asean transport ministers, the gathering was also attended by officials of China, Korea, Japan and the United States-Asean Business Council.
