Brussels, 22/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Malaysian government and the European Commission have begun formal negotiations to conclude a voluntary partnership agreement to ensure that tropical Malaysian wood and its derived products imported into the EU will, in the future, really have been obtained legally. These FLEGT negotiations (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) aim to implement the Community's action plan on forestry regulation, governance and trade, through voluntary agreements that are supposed to put an end to illegal forestry activities and the trade in illegally felled timber.
The first negotiations session took place on 19 January in Miri (Sarawak, Malaysia). With the opening of negotiations, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Jui, the Malaysian minister for plantation industries and commodities, expressed the hope that an agreement could be finalised before the end of the year. The two parties outlined the contours to their cooperation for an efficient FLEGT agreement that will enable them to identify and track down legally harvested tropical Malaysian timber and derived products. (an)