KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Malaysia and the European Union (EU) have agreed to explore further cooperation under the Transport Ministry to develop sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said.

He said this included making the product more accessible and affordable to the aviation industry players in the future, in addition to promoting the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme Agenda for International Aviation (Corsia).

These matters were discussed during the bilateral meeting between the Malaysian delegation led by him and the EU delegation led by the European Commission’s department for Mobility and Transport, Henrik Hololei at the 28th Asean Transport Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia today.

"Henrik Hololei also praised Malaysia’s achievements in the aviation sector, namely its re-election to the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Council and being reinstated to the Category 1 safety rating of the US FAA (US Federal Aviation Administration) after meeting IASA (International Aviation Safety Assessment) standards recently.

"We thank the EU for its strong support in Malaysia’s re-election,” he posted on his Facebook account today.

Wee said the two sides also discussed Malaysia-EU’s future cooperation in transport and logistics, and the possibility of working with European companies already in Malaysia.

According to him, the EU Commission is also invited to participate in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LlMA) in May next year.

In a separate message, Wee also said during the 13th meeting of Asean and Republic of Korea (ROK) Senior Transport Officials Meeting, South Korea reiterated its commitment to share experiences and best practices to improve the Asean transport system.

He said this included other related activities under the Asean-ROK Transport Cooperation Roadmap 2022-2025.

"We look forward to a fruitful outcome of the Asean-ROK Air Services Agreement, which is mutually beneficial for more connectivity between Asean and the ROK during the G20 (group of 20 member countries) meeting tomorrow, in Bali.

"Malaysia will continue to support closer coordination between Asean member countries and the ROK in implementing the roadmap,” he added. — Bernama