Malaysia PM proposes a free trade agreement between ASEAN ‎and GCC

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday that his country proposes concluding a free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

He added in a speech he delivered at the ASEAN-GCC Summit in Saudi Arabia that such an agreement would be the first of its kind between ASEAN and the Gulf countries.

He said, “This agreement is necessary to promote gradual, comprehensive and sustainable growth, especially as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and face a state of geopolitical uncertainty.”

ASEAN has been seeking for years to integrate its economies, which have a combined value of about $2.3 trillion, through trade, investment, compatible standards and customs procedures. The association includes ten countries with a population exceeding 600 million people.