Mr Svein Roald Hansen, Member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Labour Party, headed the delegation.
“For the EFTA countries with their open economies, free trade agreements outside the European Economic Area are very important, because they open up new markets and contribute to growth and employment”, said Mr Hansen.
Currently, EFTA has 25 free trade agreements (FTAs) covering 35 countries. South-East Asia is a main focus area for the EFTA countries at present, so the visit to Malaysia and Singapore was timely.
Strengthening trade with Malaysia
The main destination of the trip was Malaysia, the purpose of the visit being to support the preparations for negotiations on an FTA in March 2014.
Malaysia is a fast growing country with a trade-oriented economy, ranking 12th worldwide in terms of competitiveness. It therefore presents great trade potential for the EFTA countries. The delegation met with Members of the Malaysian Parliament and the Minister of International Trade and Industry, as well as with representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Transparency International.
It is customary for the EFTA parliamentarians to visit a country every year where the EFTA States are negotiating free trade agreements.
“These visits give the free trade negotiations an important parliamentary dimension, and the need for parliamentary dialogue was underlined especially with our colleagues in Malaysia”, said Mr Hansen.
He underlined that the while it was not the role of parliamentarians to get involved in the details of the negotiations, their focus was on the overall political issues, such as advancing free trade between open economies and the importance of sustainable development.
Strong trade relations with Singapore
The delegation also paid Singapore a one-day visit during their time in South-East Asia, with the purpose of meeting with Members of the Singapore Parliament and the Minister of Trade and Industry to learn about their experience of the EFTA-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
Singapore is one of the EFTA countries’ most important trading partners in Asia. Trade with Singapore has grown significantly since the conclusion of the FTA in 2002, almost tripling over the last ten years. This positive experience was confirmed by both parties, who underlined the importance of maintaining a strong trade relationship.
The Malaysian parliamentary delegation.
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