Chile and Malaysia on Monday began a 6th round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to be signed this year.
According to Andres Rebolledo, director of International Economic Relations, the first part of the negotiations dealt with the disciplines related to the goods.
"In the previous round, held in Kuala Lumpur, we achieved meaningful agreements on market access, so we hope these days to come closer to the goal," he said.
Rebolledo added that both sides agreed to discuss commerce services and investment in the second stage of the negotiations.
The issues to be discussed during the 6th round include duty-free policy, rules of origin and customs administration, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers for trade, legal issues, trade defense and cooperation.
Malaysia, with a population of 24 million, is a potential strategic partner for Chile in areas like energy.
In the last five years, trade between the two countries has risen from 130 million U.S. dollars to 311 million dollars./.