A regulatory dialogue visit of Malaysia in the EU, in relation to animal health measures was organised in Germany, Poland, Italy and France in the period of 26th September – 9th October 2022.

A team of officials from the Malaysian government visited several Member States to get a deep understanding of the animal health legislation of the EU and its application, in relation to the export of meat and meat products to Malaysia. The Malaysian delegates interacted with DG SANTE, DG TRADE officials in Brussels, as well as WOAH (former OIE) and worked on control measures in place to address ASF, HPAI and Newcastle Disease. They visited EFSA in Parma to get an overview of its work on risks assessment on ASF and on HPAI and discussed potential scientific cooperation with DVS. The visit also gave the opportunity to visit four establishments to illustrate practically how the requirements laid down in the EU law are affectively implemented by the operators in the EU. The visit contributed to building further the trust of Malaysian authorities in the controls implemented in the EU for meat and meat products exported to Malaysia.

This regulatory visit aimed at supporting the Joint Agriculture Working Group (JAWG) of Malaysia and Denmark for a regulatory dialogue on Danish procedures and products, in order to reduce barriers of market entry of Danish producers to Malaysia.

The Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and Department of Veterinary Service visited Denmark from 22nd to 25th August 2023 for a Joint Working Group meeting to discuss future cooperation within the MoU signed between Malaysia and Denmark. In relation to the meeting a program was put together for the delegation targeting areas of interest from Malaysia's side. Focus was on handling infectious livestock animal diseases; breeding and genetics; the shared interest in sustainability and resource efficient food production and one health/AMR.

The program included presentations from and discussions with the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Danish Technical University, Aarhus University, Danish Agricultural and Food Council, Food Nation (a Danish Public Private Partnership) and a breeding company.

Topics covered during the visit include AMR DANMAP (Danish Programme for surveillance of antimicrobial consumption and resistance in bacteria from food animals) and EU reference laboratory’s tasks and responsibilities; Smart farming; Genetics; the Danish Agricultural and Food Council initiative “Travel to Farm” (possibility of interning and working in the agri-sector and receive training); Infectious animal diseases; Public Private cooperation; Agro tech and the dairy sector.

All in all, the Malaysian delegation expressed that they were impressed with the level of expertise demonstrated; they got a good understanding of certain EU regulation and implementation in Denmark, and they expressed a very strong interest in further cooperation and knowledge sharing.