Malaysia and the United Kingdom held the first Trade and Economic Joint Committee (JETCO) meeting, chaired by the relevant ministers from both countries.
The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry and the UK's Department for Business and Trade issued a joint statement saying that this meeting reflects the strengthening trade relations between Malaysia and the UK, which is also supported by the members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul and UK Minister for Business and Trade Alexander have actively held talks to explore ways to promote bilateral trade and investment.
“The two ministers also support a highly visionary joint implementation plan to strengthen bilateral cooperation in priority areas such as legal services, education, standards and compliance assessment, agriculture, and small and medium enterprises.”
“The meeting also covered cooperation potential between Malaysia and the UK in fields such as customs, Islamic finance, cooperatives, and social enterprises.”
This meeting is aligned with the working visit of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar to the UK starting on the 15th of this month for a duration of five days.
Accompanying Anwar on his visit are Tengku Zafrul, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry, Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Zohari, and Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Datuk Balajandra.
The Ministry of Trade noted that Zafrul and Alexander also discussed CPTPP-related matters and welcomed the signing of the first free trade agreement between Malaysia and the UK after the UK officially joins the agreement on December 15, 2024.
“Both sides are committed to continuing close cooperation to support Malaysian and UK businesses in making good use of this agreement.”
Furthermore, according to the bilateral economic relations of the two countries in the first 11 months of 2024, the UK became Malaysia's 21st largest trade partner globally and the 4th largest trade partner in Europe.
The total trade volume between Malaysia and the UK amounted to 15.29 billion ringgit (3.34 billion US dollars).