National Trade Blueprint

International trade has been the cornerstone of Malaysia's economic development. As global trade becomes increasingly complex and competitive, it is extremely important to continuously strengthen Malaysia’s position as one of the strongest nations in trade connectivity and realign its export agenda to address the emerging trends and new opportunities. The Covid-19 pandemic has further emphasised on the importance to optimise and strengthen Malaysia’s trade processes to ensure Malaysia remains competitive within the trade ecosystem amid the uncertainties. Against this backdrop, the blueprint takes cognisance of the environmental factors and existing capabilities, to set forth suitable strategies for the development of trade competitiveness, and the creation of an enabling environment for exporters to tap into export opportunities. Broadly, the framework is guided by the vision to further strengthen Malaysia’s position as a leading exporter through the 4 strategic priorities, 3 strategic themes and 8 strategic thrusts that have been identified to enhance Malaysia’s export competitiveness. Through an appropriate short to long term export strategy, the blueprint makes a renewed focus on improving Malaysia’s exports, in order to propel the nation onto an even higher export growth trajectory. Driving Malaysia’s Export Competitiveness Strategic Framework Key Guiding Principles In a fast changing and unpredictable global environment, this National Trade Blueprint puts specific focus on harnessing the broad experience, expertise and knowledge of the industries and works towards delivering a future growth in ways that emphasise sustainable development. The following principles have been embedded when developing the strategies outlined in the blueprint: • Building upon Malaysia’s existing foundation and strengths • Prioritising the need to cultivate a competitive mindset among all stakeholders • Emphasising the need to ensure sustainability in accordance with global demands • Ensuring seamless and transparent processes to improve efficiency and reduce redundancy among all stakeholders • Taking a collaborative approach among all stakeholders and agencies to position exports as the utmost priority • Ensuring consistency and proper monitoring mechanisms for all recommendations and implementation plans to allow for continuous improvement 22 National Trade Blueprint