Korea-Malaysia Enter 6th Round of FTA Negotiations

Four-Day Negotiations Begin Today
Covering 11 Areas Including Goods, Services, Rules of Origin, Digital, and Economic Cooperation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that from the 21st, the 6th official negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia will be held.

About 80 members from both countries' negotiation teams will participate in the talks, which will continue until the 24th. On our side, Kwon Hye-jin, the FTA negotiator, will lead as the chief representative, while on the Malaysian side, Sumathi Balakrishnan, Director of the Negotiation Strategy Division at the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), will serve as the chief representative.

Since the declaration to resume Korea-Malaysia FTA negotiations in March last year, the two countries have entered full-scale market opening and rule negotiations through two consecutive official negotiations (the 4th in August and the 5th in October).

In particular, in November last year, during the bilateral summit and trade ministers' meeting, both sides agreed to expedite the conclusion of a comprehensive FTA covering digital and new industry sectors.

Our government plans to accelerate discussions and resolve mutual differences across a total of 11 areas, including goods, services, rules of origin, digital, and economic cooperation, during this 6th official negotiation.

Negotiator Kwon said, "Malaysia is Korea's third-largest trading partner and fourth-largest investment partner among ASEAN countries, as well as a key hub for Korean companies entering the ASEAN market. Amid increasing global economic uncertainties, we will actively engage in negotiations to ensure a high-level FTA is concluded promptly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.