Japan and Malaysia will try to bridge the remaining gaps in negotiations for a bilateral free-trade agreement during a vice-ministerial meeting in Malaysia starting Tuesday, according to a top Japanese trade official.
The goal is to seal a basic deal by the end of the month.
"We expect good results from the upcoming talks" so that the two countries can strike a basic FTA agreement when Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visits Japan on May 25, Hideji Sugiyama, vice minister for economy, trade and industry, said Monday.
The two countries, which launched official FTA talks in January 2004, have reached a basic accord on agricultural and marine products but have yet to agree on industrial products.
Sugiyama said "some progress" was made in the areas of auto and steel trade during the previous round of vice-ministerial talks in Tokyo.