Ministers from Asean and Japan will join business leaders for the first time from Friday for talks on lifting trade barriers and securing closer economic ties, a Malaysian official said Thursday. Industry leaders from Asean and the Japanese Chambers of Commerce and Industry asked politicians to join them at the annual two-day gathering in Kuala Lumpur, which aims to address problems faced by Japanese investors targeting the 10-nation bloc.
"They are expected to deliberate on the implementation of the Asean Free Trade Area as well as ways to address barriers to trade in order to boost economic co-operation," the trade ministry said in a statement. "Other key issues include problems faced by Japan's private sector when investing in Asean and ways to boost their investments," it added.