Joint Statement on UK-Malaysia Joint Economic and Trade Committee
Source: gov.uk (2025-01-16)

A Joint Statement between the United Kingdom and Malaysia concluding the first Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting.

Today (Thursday 16 January), the UK and Malaysia held the inaugural ministerial-led Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting. The first UK-Malaysia JETCO is a clear signal of the deepening of an already strong trade relationship between the UK and Malaysia supported by membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Douglas Alexander MP, and Malaysian Minister for Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, held positive talks in London to explore ways to increase bilateral trade and investment. The Ministers endorsed an ambitious joint workplan to further bilateral cooperation in agreed priority areas including legal services, education, standards and conformity assessment, agriculture, wines and spirits, and SMEs. The UK and Malaysia also discussed exploring further potential cooperation in the areas of customs, Islamic Finance, cooperatives and social enterprises.

CPTPP

Ministers welcomed the first ever free trade agreement between the UK and Malaysia, achieved through the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which entered into force on 15 December 2024.

Ministers committed to continue working closely to support UK and Malaysian businesses to effectively utilise the agreement.

Agriculture, Food and Drink

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security have agreed to establish a new Agriculture, Food and Drink Working Group. This technical dialogue will seek to tackle barriers to trade, encourage policy exchange, and identify potential areas for collaboration.

Legal Services

The UK and Malaysia are actively engaged in collaborative efforts within the framework of the Legal Services Working Group to deepen cooperation between legal sectors and explore opportunities to strengthen bilateral legal services trade according to internationally recognised principles. A notable achievement of this working group is the extension of the validity of the Qualified Foreign Law Firm (QFLF) license on renewal from three to five years. This positive step will help enhance business certainty for UK law firms operating within the Malaysian jurisdiction. The UK and Malaysia look forward to continuing to work together on shared interests including fostering ties on dispute resolution and international commercial arbitration.

Education

The UK’s Department for Education and Malaysia’s Ministry for Higher Education signed an MOU in May 2023 to strengthen cooperation in the higher education sector of both countries. Through the Education Working Group, the UK and Malaysia will cooperate on transnational education and continue exploration of degree apprenticeships, student mobility and skills, and teacher training including International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS).

Standards and Conformity Assessment

The UK and Malaysia will be imminently agreeing the Terms of Reference for a Standards and Conformity Assessment Working Group. The Working Group provides a framework for cooperation and dialogue on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. This forum will be held with a view to strengthening regulatory cooperation and reducing technical barriers to trade, facilitating market access between the UK and Malaysia.

Wines and Spirits

The UK has delivered a series of training workshops on counterfeit alcohol for Malaysian enforcement officers from various departments, including Customs, Domestic Trade, Health, Police and Communications and Multimedia Commission. The events shared the UK’s experience in tackling counterfeits sold in the market and how to further strengthen enforcement measures for public health and safety. A total of 500 Malaysian enforcement officers have benefitted from these training sessions since 2022. We are planning to expand the programme to Sabah and Sarawak this year and deliver focussed training sessions on lot codes and tackling online sales of counterfeit alcohol.

SMEs

The UK and Malaysia will continue to collaborate on policies to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through the MSME Working Group (MSMEWG). The MSMEWG continues to explore best practice for MSME support on topics including but not limited to MSME digitalisation, the just and green transition for MSMEs, and business matching for entrepreneurs.

ASEAN

The UK supports Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship under the theme: “Inclusivity and Sustainability” and looks forward to deepening the UK-ASEAN partnership, through the launch of the 2045 ASEAN Community Vision later this year.

Bilateral economic relationship

Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Malaysia was £5.7 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024. Malaysia was the UK’s 44th largest trading partner in the four quarters to Q2 2024 accounting for 0.3% of total UK trade.