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Malaysia calls on Sudan to ratify OIC’s Preferential Tariff accord

KHARTOUM, April 16 (Bernama) — Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today called on Sudan to ratify the Protocol on the Preferential Tariff Scheme (PRETAS) of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to help make it operational.

The protocol can come into effect when 10 OIC member countries ratify it. So far, Malaysian and Jordan have done so .

“Implementation of the PRETAS will boost intra-OIC trade,” the Prime Minister and OIC chairman reminded when delivering the keynote address at the Malaysia-Sudan Business Forum here.

Today is the second day of his three-day official visit to Sudan.

As members of the OIC, he said, Malaysia and Sudan can assume important roles in facilitating trade liberalisation through initiatives such as the Trade Preferential System among OIC member countries (TPS-OIC).

As firm believers in economic development and global trade, he said, Malaysia and Sudan have much to contribute to trade expansion including within the OIC.

Malaysia’s total trade with OIC countries reached US$22.7 billion in 2006, an increase of 22.9 percent from 2005.

Its exports for the year amounted to US$11.8 billion, an increase of 17 per cent over 2005’s US$10.1 billion, with more than 60 per cent of the exports being manufactured products. Electrical and electronic products constituted the largest share of the products, he added.

Other major export items included palm oil, chemicals and chemical products, jewellery as well as machinery, appliances and parts.

Malaysia’s imports from this region increased by 30 per cent to US$10.9 billion in 2006 compared with US$8.4 billion in 2005, with major imports being crude petroleum, refined petroleum products, chemicals and chemical products, manufactures of metal and electric and electronic products.

“Quite clearly, the enhanced liberalisation of trade among members of groupings such as the OIC can lead to further expansion and diversification of trade,” Abdullah stressed.

He pointed out that Malaysia also has the capacity to engage in large scale businesses and other economic ventures with other countries.

On Malaysia’s involvement and role in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) and the Asean Free Trade Area, he spoke of his country’s access to a population of more than 560 million and a combined GDP of US$876.1 billion.

Its trade with Asean neighbours continues to grow as trade and investment barriers are increasingly being dismantled, he added.

Malaysia’s trade with Asean in 2006 amounted to US$75.3 billion, an increase of 14.4 percent from 2005’s US$65.8 billion.

“We expect to experience even more growth in intra-Asean trade and investment upon the elimination of practically all tariffs when the Asean Free Trade Area is fully realised in 2010,” he said, adding that Asean is envisaged to become an Economic Community by 2015, resulting in a single market.

This, he said, will allow for the free flow of goods, services, investment and labour as well as capital.

Abdullah said Malaysia is also strengthening economic ties with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. This is being done not just through bilateral initiatives but also through its role in Asean.

The Prime Minister, who spoke of Malaysia’s implementation of its Ninth Malaysia Plan to realise the economic and social objectives of the country from 2006 to 2010 and its Third Industrial Master Plan, also invited the Sudanese people to explore businesss opportunities in Malaysia and visit the country in conjunction with the “Visit Malaysia Year 2007” tourism programme.

(Bernama)

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