Malaysia Urges For JWG Meeting To Convene As Early As Jan 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has called for the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and European Union (EU) to convene as early as in January next year following the elevation of the relationship of both regional organisations to Strategic Partnership. In making the call during his intervention at the 23rd ASEAN-EU Ministerial meeting, Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said both sides need to iron out pending issues, mainly in relation to the element of vegetable oils in the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Joint Working Group (JWG). He said after almost two years of negotiation, the EU and relevant ASEAN member states are able to reach a common ground. “For Malaysia, we see this positive development as a major breakthrough in our partnership with the EU. It reflects our common position to resolve the issue of palm oil in a holistic and transparent manner. “I also stand together with my colleagues in ASEAN to elevate ASEAN-EU relations to a Strategic Partnership; emphasising the need for the JWG to convene without delay, as early as January 2021,” he said in the meeting held Tuesday. The meeting, held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, was chaired by Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, and also attended by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles. The meeting was attended in full by all 10 ASEAN Foreign Ministers along with all 27 Foreign Ministers of the EU. “I wish to thank Josep Borell for his personal approach in continuously engaging us in ASEAN,” Hishammuddin said. During the meeting, Hishammuddin also highlighted that the misconception on palm oil sustainability in Europe had negatively impacted the palm oil industry in Malaysia, which involved the livelihood of more than 500,000 smallholders in the palm oil sector and a multiplying effect to the farmers themselves, their families and their surrounding communities. “For Malaysia, what was particularly meaningful was our constructive conversation on matters relating to palm oil, especially on the status of the review of the Delegated Regulation of the RED II, and approaches to address the negative optics of palm oil in Europe,” he said. -- BERNAMA