KUALA LUMPUR: Asean is in the final stages of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Mohamad said progress in talks between Asean and the EU has developed positively.
“I think it is progressing well and hopefully, we can conclude this Asean-EU FTA soon,” said Mohamad in a press conference at KLCC on Saturday (Oct 25).
Mohamad also said European Council President António Costa will be attending the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits on Sunday (Oct 25) as a guest.
The EU was Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner in 2024, while Malaysia was the EU’s 22nd largest trading partner with total trade amounting to RM227.55bil.
Malaysia is also the EU’s third-largest trading partner within Asean.
On Jan 20 this year, the EU and Malaysia announced the resumption of negotiations for a comprehensive and modern FTA with the first round taking place in late June.
The agreement was initially launched in 2010. In 2012 and after seven rounds of negotiations, it was put on hold at Malaysia’s request.
The EU said in 2023, both parties began a stocktaking exercise to determine their positions regarding a possible resumption of negotiations for the FTA.
The EU also carried out a joint scoping exercise with Malaysia to determine the scope and the level of ambition of the future trade agreement, which concluded in Dec 2024.
