KUALA LUMPUR—Malaysia and New Zealand have signed a free trade deal after four years of negotiations, in an agreement Malaysia hopes will see it become a gateway to investment in Southeast Asia.
As New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and his Malaysian counterpart, Najib Razak, witnessed, trade officials signed the pact on Monday which covers goods, services and investment, and which was struck in May after 10 rounds of talks.
"This is a very significant milestone in terms of our traditional links," Najib told a joint press conference.
"It will certainly boost trade and investment and we are hoping that Malaysia becomes an attractive investment hub for investors from New Zealand not only in the context of Malaysia but for the whole ASEAN region."
"We would like New Zealand investors to look at Malaysia as a gateway to the ASEAN market," he said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Key said the trade deal would be an "important milestone" in the bilateral relationship.
"For New Zealand, it is our eighth-largest trading partner and we see tremendous opportunities for New Zealand companies in Malaysia and vice versa. We are looking forward to expanding the relationship," he said.
The deal eliminates import duties on 10,293 Malaysian tariff lines, to be removed progressively by 2016. About 9,070 including paper, plastics and auto components will be fast-tracked for removal by 2012.
Another 89 "sensitive" lines including rice, tobacco and alcohol are exempted "on health, security or moral reasons", the Malaysian trade ministry said.
It said in a statement New Zealand will eliminate duties on all of its 7,238 tariff lines by 2016, with the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (MNZFTA) expected to start being implemented from next year.
Both countries have also agreed to cooperate on education, forestry, health, biotechnology and the manufacturing sector as part of the deal.
Malaysia's total trade with New Zealand last year reached $US1.8 billion ($A1.95 billion), with exports of $US1.1 billion ($A1.19 billion) and imports of $US0.8 billion ($A867.87 million), the ministry added.
Growth in total trade between the two countries increased 14.7 per cent in 2007 and 46.2 per cent in 2008, with trade for the first eight months of this year reaching $US637.7 million ($A692 million).
Malaysia's major exports to New Zealand include crude petroleum, electrical and electronic products, manufactured metal and chemical products.
Major imports from New Zealand include processed food, live animals and meat, and paper and pulp products.
