Government Agrees to Strengthening EU-Malaysia Cooperation

Bratislava, November 13 (TASR) - The government on Wednesday gave its consent to a proposal to conclude a Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the EU and Malaysia, stating that the agreement represents a step towards intensifying political, regional and global cooperation between two like-minded partners. The government at the same time recommended that Parliament should approve the agreement and asked President Peter Pellegrini to ratify it subsequently. The document sets out a framework for mutually beneficial cooperation in the economic and trade fields, as well as in the areas of justice and internal affairs, including the fight against terrorism, corruption, organised crime and migration, plus the environment, energy, climate change, transport, science and technology, employment and social affairs, education, agriculture and culture. "It also contains provisions to protect the EU's financial interests. An important part of the agreement is devoted to trade cooperation, which creates the conditions for concluding a free trade agreement," stated the sponsors of the approved motion. The agreement is the first bilateral agreement between the EU and Malaysia and replaces the current legal framework of the 1980 cooperation agreement between the European Economic Community and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. zel/df