KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — The European Union (EU) and Malaysia will continue discussions on establishing an ad-hoc task force to support the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in Malaysia.
The Director-General for the Environment of the EU, Florika Fink-Hooijer, said the bloc and Malaysia are strategic partners that share a common objective to protect nature and biodiversity, in line with the commitments made at the historic biodiversity COP15 in Montreal.
“I am delighted that the EU and Malaysia are continuing constructive dialogues and collaborating on the environmental front. We also had the opportunity to continue the discussion on shared goals of halting deforestation and supporting the trade of sustainable commodities,” she said in a statement.
This follows Fink-Hooijer’s meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also Minister of Plantation and Commodities, along with Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, business leaders, producers, smallholders, and environmental organisations.
She visited Malaysia yesterday to advance EU-Malaysia cooperation on environmental issues and as a follow-up to Malaysia’s diplomatic mission to Brussels alongside Indonesia last month.
The two nations have discussed cooperation and joint efforts concerning deforestation and environmental degradation with the EU.
During her visit, Fink-Hooijer shared perspectives and progress on the EU’s policies and gained insights from environmental activists, conservationists and social entrepreneurs in the country.
“The EU, together with its member states, have long joined forces with Malaysian stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental, to raise the standards for forest and biodiversity protection while setting the course for a circular economy,” she said.
The discussion with Niz Nazmi was on multilateral environmental cooperation between the EU and Malaysia, as well as the strengthening of EU-Malaysia bilateral cooperation on biodiversity and circular economy.
“The meeting will be followed by thematic exchanges in the next weeks on plastics, wildlife trafficking and the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Agreement,” Fink-Hooijer said.
— Bernama
