Working things out with France
In latest news, Malaysia and France are working things out by holding joint dialogues and strengthen engagements to promote better understanding of the palm oil industry.
Thiscomesaftercourtesycallfrom French Ambassador to Malaysia Frederic Laplanche earlier this week where they discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and dialogues on palm oil, as well as encouraging engagements between lawmakers from both countries.
“We hope this will further address many questions related to palm oil production and sustainability among French lawmakers and its consumers,” Kok said in a statement.
The Parliamentary Friendship Group set up between French and Malaysian parliamentarians in 2018 with focus on bilateral cooperation, as well as the Malaysia-France Business Council meeting in March, will discuss at length various palm oil related matters.
Laplanche also notified Kok of French Environment Ambassador Wehrling Yann’s plan to visit Malaysia to get a first- hand exposure on Malaysia’s sustainable palm oil practices and conservation efforts.
Laplanche proposed to take advantage of Yann’s visit, slated for April, to hold the MalaysiaFrance Joint Committee on Palm Oil Cooperation meeting to promote a dialogue on palm oil, as well as to organise visits to oil palm plantations and wildlife conservation sites as part of the itinerary.
In an effort to deal with negative perception among French consumers towards palm oil, he said the French Embassy would be coordinating a programme involving the Institute of Higher Studies for Science and Technology in France focusing on infrastructure development, higher education and the palm oil industry.
The programme wi l l be participated by academicians, as well as private sector and government officials from both sides, and its outcomes will be tabled in the French Parliament.
The Minister and Laplanche also discussed the French National Assembly’s move to amend its 2019 Budget on Dec 19, 2018 to exclude the use of palm oil as biodiesel feedstock and end fiscal incentives for palm oil from January 1, 2020.
Laplanche said this would be adopted as law in France.
The French Ambassador to Malaysia pointed out that the French government was not against palm oil and that it had approved a bio-refinery owned by France’s Total Oil group with an anticipated utilisation of 350,000 metric tonnes of palm oil per annum.
He said more research on the benefits of palm oil should be publicised as there appeared to be more negative findings on palm oil being circulated that were influencing public perception in Europe.
Laplanche said the French President would soon respond to Dr Mahathir’s letter.