21/11/2013 (Bernama) - Malaysia is keen on having Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries as its new free trade agreement (FTA) partners.

Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) FTA Policy and Negotiations Coordination Division Director Datin Che Mazni Che Wook said Russia is one of the key countries that Malaysia is currently aiming for.

Besides Russia, the other 11 CIS members are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

"Actually, we plan to have an FTA with Russia and also with CIS countries but need to determine the procedure on how we want to proceed. So, we have to do a feasibility study.

"If the study shows that it will bring benefit to Malaysia, then we will start consulting the industry and stakeholders.

Then, we will get the mandate from the government," she said when delivering a talk on the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on palm oil trade at the International Palm Oil Congress (PIPOC 2013).

Malaysia is already in FTA discussions with Turkey, the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states, and is in the process of considering an FTA with Bangladesh, she said.

In addition, Malaysia is also a negotiator country for the Asean-Japan (Investment and Services), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnersip (RCEP) and TPPA.

Malaysia's trade with its FTA partners grew 5.8 per cent to RM832.52 billion in 2012 from the RM786.66 bilion in 2011.