KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia fully committed to the success of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with deeper negotiations on four pillars.
Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali explained that the IPEF would provide a strategic framework for trade and other investment matters between Malaysia, the US, and the other partnering countries.
The IPEF was recently launched by US President Joe Biden and saw 13 starting member countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and the US.
Furthermore, the minister stated that the IPEF partners will be negotiating on areas around four different pillars which are trade, supply chains, clean energy, tax and anti-corruption, as well as decarbonisation and infrastructure.
He said that negotiations will bolster regional economic cooperation and it will include a shared commitment regarding a free, open, inclusive, interconnected, resilient, safe and prosperous Indo-Pacific region for the achievement of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
During the virtual launch of the IPEF, he expressed his views that Malaysia is fully committed to the success of the framework and the government had begun to collectively discuss further negotiations regarding the four pillars.
Mohamed Azmin stated that Malaysia believes the framework should be all-inclusive. For that reason, it is important to continue engaging all members from ASEAN nations to define the enduring links that can be beneficial on all aspects of cooperation between the US and the region.
Additionally, he also said that he is hopeful the IPEF will offer new chances to explore and improve cooperation in areas of mutual interest, among them being strengthening the resiliency of supply chain, the digital economy and sustainable energy.
Furthermore, he highlighted how the framework could serve as a board structure for collaborative problem-solving through cooperation, capacity building, and technical assistance.
Consequently, it could also act as an impetus to boost competitiveness, economic resilience, and post-pandemic recovery for sustainable and equitable regional prosperity, he added.
With special emphasis on the trade and investment agenda, Malaysia stands to benefit from a more strategic approach to accomplishing the common goal of making the Indo-Pacific an open, integrated, prosperous, resilient and secure region, he further said.
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