Brussels, 24/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström will be in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April to take part in the annual meeting of economy ministers from the ASEAN bloc in South-East Asia (Brunei, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand).
Malmström will discuss with her Asian counterparts how to strengthen trade and investment flows between the EU and the ASEAN. She will also discuss global issues, including how to strengthen the EU-ASEAN partnership at the WTO and in other multilateral bodies.
As part of her visit, Malmström will meet members of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, which comprises representatives of European chambers of commerce and businesses in the region.
In addition, Malmström will also have individual meetings with the trade ministers of the ASEAN countries; including Indonesia and Vietnam.
While the EU-ASEAN free trade negotiations have been on ice since 2009, the EU concluded a free trade agreement with Singapore at the end of 2012, including a chapter on investment (see EUROPE 11179), and its free trade talks with Vietnam are nearing their goal (see EUROPE 11284). Negotiations are also ongoing with Burma/Myanmar for an agreement on investment protection (see EUROPE 11254).
Free trade negotiations with Malaysia were launched in 2010 but they have been on hold since the general elections there in spring 2013 (see EUROPE 11205). Talks were also launched with Thailand in June 2013 (see EUROPE 10801) but they too have been on hold since the coup in Thailand in 2014. The EU said at the end of 2014 that it would like to negotiate a free trade agreement with the Philippines (see EUROPE 11156). Negotiations have also been long-planned with Indonesia, with which a cooperation and partnership agreement entered into force on 1 May 2014. (Emmanuel Hagry)