Chief negotiators from the EFTA States and Malaysia meet

Ambassador Markus Schlagenhof, delegate of the Federal Council for Trade Agreements and Head of the World Trade Division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs chaired the EFTA delegation while Ms Sumathi Balakrishnan, Senior Director at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry led the Malaysian group. Accompanied by relevant experts, discussions focused on intellectual property rights, government procurement, legal and horizontal issues, dispute settlement, trade and sustainable development and trade in goods. Heads of delegation tasked their experts to hold further intersessional exchanges, to prepare the ground for the 12th round later this year.

 

Negotiations started in Geneva in 2014. Bilateral trade between EFTA and Malaysia has grown steadily since negotiations were launched. EFTA countries exported goods worth USD 880 million to Malaysia in 2021, with pharmaceutical products and electronic machinery accounting for the main exports. In the same year, EFTA’s imports from Malaysia amounted to more than USD 1.2 billion and were mainly composed of electronics, machinery and rubber products. All trade figures exclude gold. 

 

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Malaysia here.