Malaysian International Trade And Industry Minister On Working Visit To Turkey

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 (Bernama) -- Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed will undertake a two-day working visit to Turkey beginning April 16 in conjunction with the signing of the Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The mission is aimed at boosting trade and investment ties between Malaysia and Turkey and strengthen business networking between the private sectors of both countries. Mustapa will be accompanied by officials from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation. The visit will further enhance the close bilateral ties between both countries particularly with the signing of the FTA, said Trade and Industry Ministry Secretary-General Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria. "The agreement will not only benefit local companies in both countries but also attract investors to locate their operations here in order to reap the FTA benefits", she told Bernama. Mustapa will begin his trip by meeting with Khazanah Turkey Regional Office representative followed by a one-to-one meeting with five big industry companies in Turkey before engaging with Malaysian students and Turkish International Islamic University Malaysia Alumni in Istanbul. On the second day, the minister will ink the historic Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Ankara with his counterpart, witnessed by Prime Minister Najib Razak and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The FTA with Turkey will be Malaysia's seventh bilateral FTA with foreign countries after Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Chile, India and Australia. The negotiations between Malaysia and Turkey, which commenced in May 2010, has undergone nine rounds of meetings. Total trade between Malaysia and Turkey last year stood at US$1.1 billion. --BERNAMA