Malaysia, Japan team up to address global supply chain issues

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to stepping up their efforts to meet challenges of the new era, particularly issues related to global supply chain disruption.

During a meeting with visiting special envoy of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Malaysian Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Azmin Ali had dicussed various issues of mutual interest, the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) said in a statement.

The topics of discussion covered the enhancement of bilateral trade and investment relations, the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Japan's hosting of the Expo 2025 Osaka.

The officials acknowledged that in recent years, both countries have been expanding the horizon of cooperation, including in measures against COVID-19, smart cities development, communication infrastructure, and energy transition toward net zero carbon.

Both sides agreed on the imperative of working together to tackle the challenges of the new era, particularly in facing headlong issues related to the disruption of the global supply chain, the ministry said.

On RCEP, Abe said he was looking forward to the agreement coming into force for Malaysia on March 18, expressing the hope that Malaysia would also soon ratify CPTPP.

Last year, Japan was ranked as Malaysia's fourth largest overall global trading partner, while Malaysia was Japan's 10th largest trading partner. Their total bilateral trade hit 148.98 billion RM.

Abe began his visit to Malaysia on March 10./.