Malaysia, Australia To Ink FTA On Tuesday

By Neville D'Cruz KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Australia will sign a free trade agreement (FTA) here on Tuesday. It will be Malaysia's sixth bilateral FTA. According to an advisory issued by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, its Minister Mustapa Mohamed and his Australian counterpart Dr Craig Emerson will sign the agreement. Negotiations of the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (MAFTA) commenced in May 2005. In 2006, MAFTA negotiations came to a pause for both parties to focus on the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA). The advisory said that negotiations resumed in August 2009 after the conclusion of AANZFTA with marked progress. MAFTA was successfully concluded on 30 March 2012. MAFTA is a comprehensive agreement, which comprises 21 chapters encompassing trade, services and investment as well as economic cooperation. It also marks another important milestone in Malaysia–Australia economic relations. In addition to complementing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), MAFTA will open up new market opportunities for both countries and enhance trade and economic relations between the two countries once the FTA is implemented. -- BERNAMA