The EFTA states and Malaysia concluded their negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement on 11 April 2025. Negotiations on the agreement started in November 2012.
The EFTA/EU Delegation welcomes the recent conclusion of the negotiations. The visit by the EFTA Parliamentary Committee to Malaysia is therefore a good opportunity to highlight the importance of the negotiated agreement at the parliamentary level and to provide impetus for its signing and subsequent ratification.
The agreement aims to strengthen EFTA's economic relations with Malaysia and to promote trade and investment between the contracting parties. It covers areas such as trade in goods and services, intellectual property rights, rules of origin, trade facilitation, investment and cooperation. The agreement also includes commitments to provide mutual access to each other's government procurement markets – this is a milestone, as it is the first time EFTA has negotiated such commitments with an Asian partner. The agreement also includes commitments on human rights and on labour and environmental protection, including dedicated provisions on sustainable production and trade in palm oil.
Malaysia is an important trading partner for the EFTA countries in Southeast Asia. It is the sixth largest economy in the region and has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world over the last decade. The volume of trade with Switzerland amounted to CHF 2.3 billion in 2024. Switzerland exported goods worth more than CHF 1.4 billion and imported goods worth CHF 855 million. Thanks to its special position in international value chains, particularly in the electronics and semiconductor industries, Malaysia is a market with significant growth potential for Swiss trade and an interesting destination for Swiss investment.
The programme of the working visit includes several meetings in the capital Kuala Lumpur and in Kuching, the capital of the state of Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states in the north of the island of Borneo. In Kuching, the EFTA Parliamentary Committee will pay a courtesy call on the chief minister of Sarawak and meet the speakers of both houses of the Malaysian parliament, who are in Kuching for an ASEAN inter-parliamentary meeting. Malaysia currently holds the chair of ASEAN. In Kuala Lumpur, there will be high-level meetings with the Ministries of Trade and Foreign Affairs, parliamentary committees, business representatives and other stakeholders such as trade unions. The parliamentarians will also participate in a panel discussion on the electronics and high-tech sector. The meetings will provide an opportunity to discuss the new agreement in detail and exchange views on current regional and geopolitical issues related to free trade, sustainability, biodiversity and rainforest conservation. The region of Sarawak on the island of Borneo is particularly affected by these sustainability issues.
The EFTA Parliamentary Committee makes regular visits to third countries with which EFTA is negotiating or renewing free trade agreements.
The Swiss EFTA/EU Delegation will be represented on the working visit by its president, National Council member Thomas Aeschi (SVP, ZG), Council of States members Benedikt Würth (The Centre, SG) and Damian Müller (FDP.The Liberals, LU), and National Council member Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL).