{
  "id": 14127134,
  "title": "Malaysia steps up Africa trade push as bilateral trade hits RM65.1bil",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/malaysia-steps-up-africa-trade-push-as-bilateral-trade-hits-rm65-1bil",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-13T05:30:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/economy/2026/10/1554351/malaysia-steps-africa-trade-push-bilateral-trade-hits-rm651bil"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Malaysia is intensifying its efforts to expand trade relations with Africa, as bilateral trade between the two regions reached RM65.11 billion in 2025, a significant increase from RM46.05 billion recorded from January to August 2026. As part of this strategy, Malaysia has launched the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) 2026 on Trade Promotion for African Countries, a ten-day event aimed at enhancing the trade promotion capabilities of African countries. The programme, which will take place from October 12 to 19, will see participation from trade officials of ten African nations, alongside observers from the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Union Development Agency. The initiative, a collaboration between Malaysia's Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme under the Foreign Affairs ministry, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, aims to foster stronger trade ties and deepen economic cooperation between Malaysia and Africa.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}