Transport matters: Dr Wee at the ATM in Bali, Indonesia. He wants to see growth in the aviation and tourism sectors.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia views the Asean-European Union Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (AECATA) as pivotal in restoring and revitalising the aviation and tourism industries, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
“In my remarks during the Asean Transport Ministers Meeting and Associates Meeting (ATM), I said Malaysia views the agreement as pivotal in the era of post-Covid-19 recovery to restore the aviation and tourism industries,” the Transport Minister said in his Facebook post yesterday.
He added that the agreement, to be inked during the gathering in Bali, would also revitalise the economies of Asean and the EU, which had been severely affected by the pandemic.
“This agreement should open up new growth opportunities for aviation in both regions,” he added.
He said the agreement would be the world’s first bloc-to-bloc air transport agreement among 37 member states of Asean and the EU.
Apart from this, Dr Wee said there was another important agreement between Asean members on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Cooperation.
He said Malaysia welcomed the initiative to boost cooperation in search and rescue (SAR).
“This entails Asean members cooperating on a wide range of SAR-related exercises, information sharing and technical exchanges, and operational coordination,” he said.
The two-day 28th Asean Transport Ministers Meeting and Associated Meetings in Bali end today.
Meanwhile, the 54th Asean Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM) was held earlier on Oct 14 and 15.
Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Isham Ishak, represented Malaysia together with officials from the Transport Ministry.
Besides Asean transport ministers, the gathering was also attended by officials from the China, South Korea, Japan and the United States-Asean Business Council.
Meanwhile Dr Wee said the Malaysian delegation also had a bilateral meeting with the European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE).
He said Malaysia was commended for its re-election to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council and was reinstated to Category 1 of the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program safety rating,
“The delegation chief, Henrik Hololei, who is the director-general of MOVE, praised and applauded Malaysia’s double achievement in aviation.
“We agreed to explore further ways to work together under the Transport Ministry to push the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia) agenda and develop sustainable aviation fuels while making them more accessible and affordable for our respective aviation industry players in the future,” he said.
Dr Wee said they also discussed the way forward between Malaysia and the EU in terms of transport and logistics.
“I also invited the EC to take part in the upcoming LIMA event in May next year,” he said.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter Dr Wee said South Korea had reiterated its commitment to share its experience and best practices to enhance transport systems in Asean countries.
He said South Korea would also share its experiences in other related activities under the Asean-ROK Transport Cooperation Roadmap 2022-2025.
“In my intervention (remarks made during proceedings) on behalf of Malaysia, I put on record South Korea’s 30 years of cooperation with Asean since 1991, in which the republic has been instrumental in providing assistance, development consulting, feasibility studies, and knowledge exchanges to Asean states, including Malaysia,” Dr Wee said.
