KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and the United Kingdom have held their first ministerial-led Joint Economic and Trade Committee (Jetco) meeting, marking the strengthening of already robust trade relations.
The United Kingdom was Malaysia’s 21st-largest trading partner from January to November 2024 and the fourth-largest trading partner in Europe.
Bilateral trade in goods between the two countries amounted to RM15.29bil.
This could grow further now that the United Kingdom has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), giving Malaysia and the UK their first formal free trade agreement.
The United Kingdom's participation in the CPTPP came into force on Dec 15, 2024.
Malaysia's Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and UK's Trade Policy and Economic Security Minister Douglas Alexander held positive discussions in London to explore ways to enhance bilateral trade and investment, a statement from the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) said on Friday (Jan 17).
"Both ministers support an ambitious joint working plan to strengthen bilateral cooperation in priority areas such as legal services, education, standards and compliance assessments, agriculture, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” the statement said.
The meeting was held in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's working visit to the United Kingdom.
Other than Tengku Zafrul, Anwar was accompanied by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani and Foreign Affairs Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Bala Chandran Tharman.
The meeting also touched on potential cooperation in areas such as customs, Islamic finance, cooperatives, and social enterprises.
"Both parties are committed to continuing close cooperation to support businesses in Malaysia and the UK, effectively leveraging this (first and formal free trade agreement),” the ministry added.- Bernama
