KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Malaysia believes there is a need for a more effective and just international monetary cooperation mechanism that could help address the realities and needs of developing countries.
In the latest status on its official Twitter account today, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry highlighted the matter during the 25th Asean Plus Three (APT) Summit held on Saturday (November 12) in Phnom Penh.
Asean Plus Three consists of all 10 Asean member states as well Japan, China and South Korea.
Speaker of Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, who is the Special Representative to the Prime Minister, led the Malaysian delegation to the three-day 40th and 41st Asean Summits and Related Summits.
“Malaysia called on APT countries to continue promoting rules-based multilateral trading systems, and to capitalise on existing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) towards securing a resilient future and enduring shared prosperity,” the ministry said in its tweet.
The meeting also discussed efforts to increase awareness and preparedness of APT countries in facing imminent challenges such as food and energy security, sustainable agriculture, climate change and supply change disruptions due to the economic downturn, through existing Asean-led mechanisms including APT Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR), the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) and the Asean+3 Bond Market.
Leaders at the Summit also deliberated on regional n international issues including the situation in Korean Peninsula and Myanmar, the South China Sea and the Russia – Ukraine conflict.
Separately at the 2nd Asean-Australia Summit which was also held yesterday, Malaysia encouraged Asean and Australia to prioritise creating future-proof jobs and upgrading labour force quality.
It also called on both sides to increase the viability of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups, as well as improve manufacturing productivity and supply chain connectivity.
— Bernama
