EFTA States and Malaysia convene for 15th round of negotiations toward an Economic Partnership Agreement

From 28 to 30 May 2024, delegations from the EFTA States and Malaysia met in Kuala Lumpur for the 15th round of negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement between the EFTA States and Malaysia (MEEPA).

Markus Schlagenhof, Ambassador and Delegate of the Swiss Federal Council for Trade Agreements, acted as EFTA spokesperson, while Sumathi Balakrishnan, Director at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, headed the Malaysian delegation.

The parties had in-depth discussions and significant headway was made on several issues. Expert discussions were held on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property Rights, Investment, Government Procurement, Trade and Sustainable Development and Cooperation.  

You can read the full report from the round here.

Economic relations between the EFTA States and Malaysia

In 2023, total trade between the EFTA States and Malaysia reached EUR 2,15 billion, of which EUR 1,19 billion represented imports from Malaysia and EUR 964 million represented exports from the EFTA States.  

The main exports from the EFTA States were pharmaceutical products (EUR 229 million), machinery and mechanical appliances (EUR 195 million), and electrical machinery (EUR 119 million). The majority of imports from Malaysia were electrical machinery (EUR 448 million), machinery and mechanical appliances (EUR 207 million), and optical, medical and surgical instruments (EUR 150 million).  

Read more about merchandise trade between EFTA and Malaysia here.