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ASEAN services sector must transform to lead global economy: Malaysian official

Liew said the success of AIFTIS 2025 will reinforce ASEAN’s ability to become a global hub for high-value professional services. AIFTIS 2025 marks a strategic step in ASEAN’s ambition to shape, not just follow, the future of global services trade.

Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong (middle) at the ASEAN International Fair of Trade in Services (AIFTIS) 2025 (Photo: VNA)
Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong (middle) at the ASEAN International Fair of Trade in Services (AIFTIS) 2025 (Photo: VNA)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong has called for a bold transformation of ASEAN’s services sector, stressing that the region must rethink its economic fundamentals to stay competitive on the global stage.

Speaking at the ASEAN International Fair of Trade in Services (AIFTIS) 2025 in Kuala Lumpur on November 17, Liew said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can no longer view services and manufacturing as separate tracks. Manufacturing and services are deeply interconnected.

He shared that although ASEAN’s services trade grew 12.2% to 1.29 trillion USD in 2024, boosted by tourism recovery and robust digital business activities, many member states, including Malaysia, still face structural deficits in services trade, a vulnerability that must be addressed through stronger policy coordination and ecosystem development.

Liew said the success of AIFTIS 2025 will reinforce ASEAN’s ability to become a global hub for high-value professional services. AIFTIS 2025 marks a strategic step in ASEAN’s ambition to shape, not just follow, the future of global services trade./.

VNA
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