The governments of Chile and Malaysia announced on Thursday in Santiago that they will study the feasibility of a free trade agreement

Chile's Foreign Minister Ignacio Walker and Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Dato Seri Rafidah Aziz told reporters that a working group will meet on Feb. 28 in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia.

It is the first time Malaysia tries to forge a deep trade relationship with a country outside the Asia-Pacific region, according to local media reports.

"We are faced with a historic opportunity. Asia is opening its doors to us and in Chile we feel we are in an auspicious moment to restate our political will to create ever deeper trade relations as well as boost understanding and cooperation," Walker said.

In September 2004, Chile and Malaysia signed an agreement to remove double taxation, which is currently being implemented.

The two countries are frequent interlocutors in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation events and World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings.

They are also active members of the Cairns group, an organization of agricultural-exporting nations, which began to fight for reducing distortions in markets for agricultural goods at the end of the Doha round WTO talks.

Source: Xinhua