KUALA LUMPUR: The upgraded Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga) is expected to boost trade among Asean members, says Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Speaking at a press conference after the Asean Economic Community Council meetings here on Friday (Oct 24), the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister said trade between member states currently stood at about 23-24%.
“There is room for improvement, as in terms of percentage, the number has remained around 23% to 24%.
“We hope that with this upgrade, it can go even higher,” he said.
Speaking on Asean-China trade, Tengku Zafrul said the total trade between China and Asean currently stood at around 14.8%.
Asean and China are each other’s largest trading partners.
“With the upgrade (to the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement 3.0 Protocol), we will focus on reducing red tape and looking at new sectors we can include in the agreement, such as the digital and green sectors,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said Asean members also discussed best practices and technological aspects related to the rare earth elements sector.
In addition, Asean is in discussion with India regarding the renewal of the Asean-India Free Trade in Goods Agreement.
“We are optimistic that the timeline is by the end of this year,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul said Malaysia has completed seven Priority Economic Deliverables (PEDs) as Asean Chair, with another five expected to be delivered at the 47th Asean Summit and related summits.
The remaining six PEDs are expected to be successfully delivered by the end of 2025.
“We are also pleased to share that we have concluded the Asean Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) negotiations, and look forward to signing the DEFA next year.
“The DEFA, as the first region-wide digital economy arrangement, is a concrete step in developing a comprehensive and coherent digital transformation strategy towards an Asean Digital Economy,” he said.
DEFA aims to facilitate the seamless and secure flow of goods, services, with data security at its core, underpinned by enabling regulation, infrastructure, and talent.
