Brussels, 15/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Negotiations for a free trade deal between the EU and Malaysia are “well on course to meet the 18 month target” and be concluded by the end of June 2012, said Malaysia's Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed on Monday 14 March, with EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht hoping that the two sides will be able to reach a win-win deal on public procurement.
The talks started in October 2010 and after two rounds of negotiations are progressing well, explained Mustapa Mohamed after a meeting in Kuala Lumpur with Karel De Gucht, currently touring the Pacific Rim from 13-21 March. The EU and Malaysian negotiations will be in Brussels later this month, where they are expected to reach agreement on public procurement, the most tricky area of the talks. “In every negotiation, government procurement is an important subject for trading partners, as well as Malaysia, as it runs into billions of dollars, and it is natural that all governments want to ensure that their interests are protected. We understand each other's position and going forward, we want to bridge that gap,' said Mustapa Mohamed. Public procurement is a sensitive issue for Malaysia, which did not include it in its recent trade deals with Chile, India, New Zealand and Pakistan. De Gucht said that compromises will be required but there would be manifest advantages for Malaysia because the EU is a very open market when it comes to public procurement with contracts being passed that are worth more than €300 billion. “We're an open market and we can create a win-win situation”, he explained. Joint commitments to areas that affect trade, like intellectual property, public procurement and competition would help companies operate freely and fairly on the markets, he added. Thus far, Kuala Lumpur has awarded most of its public procurement contracts to Malaysian companies but De Gucht hopes the EU-Malaysia trade deal will strike a new balance in Malaysian markets to the benefit of European companies. (E.H./transl.fl)