The visit by the French Defence minister to Malaysia after the country formed a new government is reflective of Kuala Lumpur’s importance to France’s as its strategic partner in the Asian region.
Defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammudin Hussein said his counterpart, Florence Parly’s first visit to Malaysia to attend the 4th Malaysia-France Defence Joint High Strategic Committee also served to reinforce the bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and France, especially in the areas of global security and defence.
Hishammuddin, who is also Special Functions minister in the prime minister’s Department, said the meeting also touched on the import ban on palm oil by the European Union (EU), where France pledged to assist Malaysia.
France, Hishammuddin said had made a commitment that it would not discriminate against oil palm-based products, despite the EU having voted to impose a ban on the commodity beginning 2021.
France is member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) member, and one of the founders of the EU.
Parly said the country may be one of EU’s founding members, but that it was also a partner to Malaysia.
She said France had its own stand on the issue, and that her government understood how important the oil palm industry was to the Malaysian economy.
“From the French perspective, it is easy. No alternative oil sources have been sidelined, so this shows that there is no discrimination against palm oil at the national or European level.
“Malaysia can rely on France (to aid Malaysia in the palm oil issue),” she said in a joint press conference with Hishammuddin after the meeting here, adding that France believed that the issue could be resolved through dialogues.
Earlier, Parly also met with prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and visited the Subang Royal Malaysian Air Force Base.
She said the ban was also one of the main issues she had discussed with the prime minister during their meeting.
Hishammuddin said France’s stand proved that the relationship between the two countries could help solve the palm oil issue.
“The palm oil industry is important to Malaysia as it involves 650,000 farmers, with more than 1.5 million involved in the entire chain of the sector,” he said.
It has been reported that a cabinet meeting chaired by Najib last week had agreed to review the country’s trade with the EU following the ban on palm oil products.
Last April, the EU Parliament voted to avoid the use of palm biofuels by 2020. On January 17, its Parliament voted to phase out palm biofuels from the EU energy mix after 2020, a decision seen as discriminatory against products from Asia.
Also present were Armed Forces chief general Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohammed Noor and France Ambassador to Malaysia Frederic Laplanche.
Both countries also underscored the importance of their cooperation in areas including political strategies, military cooperation as well as training.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/malaysia-strategic-partner-france-proven-143024462.html
Category: Malaysia
