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PRESS RELEASE ON THE VISIT TO ITALY OF THE MALAYSIAN DELEGATION OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANTATION

VISIT TO ITALY OF THE MALAYSIAN DELEGATION OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANTATION. PRESS RELEASE

• The Secretary General of the Ministry of Plantation, Datuk K. Yogeesvaran, was in Rome on February 15th where he met his Italian counterparts in the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Agriculture. They discussed a broad range of issues of common interests and areas of cooperation in the field of economic and trade relations.

• The Malaysian side raised specifically the issue of palm oil, with reference to a recent vote in the EU Parliament on the new Directive on renewable energy, currently being discussed.

• The Italian side recognizes the sensitivity of the palm oil issue, due to its significant economic and social impact. A number of positive initiatives have already been taken by the Malaysian government in order to ensure a sustainable production and to fight deforestation, notably to achieve the objective to certify the overall production by the end of 2019.

• Discussions in the EU are not yet over and the decision-making process is not concluded. The overall common objective is to foster sustainable use of biofuel.

• Italy will continue to promote a fair and balanced solution, taking into account the concerns expressed by Malaysia as well as the interests of all stakeholders and firmly rejecting any discriminatory approach specifically targeting a single source of biofuel, the palm oil.

• This is a consistent position that Italy has been upholding for several years and it will not change in the forthcoming debate within European institutions.

• At the same time, it is also important that we all maximize efforts towards sustainable production and use. Italy and Malaysia will continue their dialogue on this matter and share best practices, building on their well-established tradition of co-operation.

Kuala Lumpur, February 19th, 2018