KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 — Malaysia has proposed that partners in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) collaborate to set up a centre of excellence to provide a cohesive and structured platform to facilitate seamless and dynamic exchanges of ideas and recommendations.
Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said the move will bring together experts in areas such as supply chain resiliency, energy sector transformation and decarbonisation of emission-intensive industries.
“We strongly believe there is a need to go beyond the general scope and area of cooperation to incorporate programmes, action plans and the requisite legislation, supported by capacity building, technical assistance and funding,” he said in a statement issued at the IPEF Ministerial Meeting.
The two-day virtual meeting on July 26 and 27 was chaired by US trade representative Katherine Tai and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, and attended by ministers from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Framework partners at the meeting were generally resolute on the need to expedite formulating the ministerial statements before the ministerial meeting in September.
At the same time, it was generally agreed that sustainability and inclusivity should remain key principles of paramount concern to guide the trajectory of the framework’s goals and objectives.
Azmin stressed that issues such as labour, environment, digital economy and food security are imperative to the well-being of present and future generations and extend onto geopolitical and geo-economic fronts.
While concurring in principle on the proposal on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, Azmin said Malaysia recognises the need to fully harness the economic potential of indigenous peoples, underscoring that “Malaysia is actively pursuing initiatives and policies to advance the interests and welfare of the disadvantaged and marginalised communities”.
