PUTRAJAYA: Asean and European Union (EU) ministers attending the 22nd Asean-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) in Brussels, Belgium on Monday, have welcomed the establishment of a joint working group between the EU and relevant Asean member states to address issues related to palm oil.
This was adopted in a joint statement of the 22nd AEMM. Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah led the Malaysian delegation to the meeting.
The meeting was co-chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini and Singapore’s Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, presently the country coordinator for Asean-EU dialogue relations.
Wisma Putra in a statement today said in his intervention, Saifuddin reiterated Malaysia’s position vis-à-vis action undertaken by the EU which would adversely affect the interests of palm oil-producing states in Asean.
In this regard, Wisma Putra said Malaysia expressed the view that the proposed elevation of Asean-EU dialogue relations to a strategic partnership should be deferred to a later stage, with Indonesia putting forward the same recommendation.
It said although the Asean and EU foreign ministers agreed in principle to upgrade Asean-EU dialogue relations to a strategic partnership, they decided that the details and timing would be worked out in due course, as a result of the concerns raised by Malaysia and Indonesia.
Wisma Putra said Saifuddin also expressed Malaysia’s hope that Asean and the EU would intensify efforts to consolidate their relations, building on existing areas of cooperation underpinned by the Asean-EU Plan of Action (2018-2022).
On initiatives to combat terrorism, it said Saifuddin at the meeting underlined the role of capacity-building programmes pursued by Malaysia under the auspices of the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT). — Bernama
