VIENTIANE: Malaysia welcomes the agreement reached at the ninth Trilateral Summit between China, Japan and South Korea to support the implementation of the electric vehicle ecosystem in the region.
Speaking at the 27th ASEAN Tripartite Summit (APT) involving the three countries, here on Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this included cooperation in the field of technology, supply chain and capacity development.
"I believe the commitment of these three nations will contribute to efforts to boost economic growth and trade relations among APT countries, as well as create a sustainable investment climate," he said.
During the conference, Anwar also congratulated China, Japan, and South Korea on the success of the Trilateral Summit held in Seoul last May.
He said the APT Summit also discussed several regional and international issues, including the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and the conflict in Myanmar.
The APT Summit is attended by the leaders of the 10-member bloc, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Meanwhile, the ASEAN Chair – in a statement after the meeting – said the leaders agreed to continue enhancing cooperation through existing mechanisms and initiatives under the APT framework to ensure resilience and effectiveness.
These include the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM), the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR), the East Asia Forum (EAF), and the Network of East Asian Think-Tanks (NEAT), among others.
Moving forward, the statement said the leaders agreed to continue implementing the Asean Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan (2023-2027) in its entirety and effectively.
"At the same time, the meeting encouraged APT countries to advance cooperation in key areas such as digital transformation, technology and innovation, green energy, economic and financial integration alongside environmental protection, infrastructure development, and regional food security," the statement read.
The APT leaders also adopted the APT Leaders' Statement on Strengthening the Connectivity of Regional Supply Chains.
The APT Summit was part of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and Related Summits held from Oct 9-11 in Vientiane. — BERNAMA