KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) will kick off free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries early next year, said MITI secretary-general Datuk Hairil Yahri Yaacob today.
He said the bilateral meeting with the GCC countries will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“We will start negotiations with GCC countries and we hope the FTA with the GCC will expand our export markets and reduce our dependence on selected countries,” he told reporters after a briefing on the Malaysia-United States Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) today.
The session featured key stakeholders including the Associations of Veterans of Malaysian Uniformed Services, the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia, and the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia.
Hairil said earlier informal discussions were done via online engagements, during which both sides agreed on the scope of the negotiations.
He added that this is among the ways to explore new markets and diversify the country’s export markets amid the challenges posed by the ART.
The media earlier reported that the first round of FTA negotiations with GCC countries would start this month, but Hairil said the date has been amended.
The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
