Malaysia and India should work to finalise an under-negotiation comprehensive bilateral free trade pact by the end of this year, Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Tun Abdul Razak said here Wednesday.
“I believe the time has come to move forward towards a resolution that will spur economic growth for both our nations,” Razak said at a joint interaction with leading industry chambers.
“So, I would like to propose a year-end deadline for our governments to conclude negotiations for the establishment of the Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.”
The Malaysian leader reached Delhi Tuesday night to begin a five-day state visit. He was given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan Wednesday morning.
Razak said the economic cooperation agreement would “spur additional bilateral trade and investment”, and create job, investment and economic opportunities for people of both countries.
“On our part, we will do all that is necessary to fast-track negotiations for this purpose”.
He also stressed on the need for expanding the scope of India’s free trade agreement with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which came into force Jan 1 and covers only goods.
“If I may suggest, let us also fast-track those negotiations and conclude the other two limbs of this agreement — covering services and investment by August this year,” he said.
Razak also noted that the ASEAN-India pact had created one of the world’s largest free trade regions, with a combined population of 1.8 billion people and gross domestic product of $2.75 trillion.
On the bilateral side, he said there was enormous scope to expand trade between Malaysia and India which crossed $10 billion in 2008.
“India has high quality technology to serve diverse sectors, and vast experience in a wide range of sciences. Malaysia, on the other hand, need expertise in bioscience, ICT, and in education. It makes sense for us to look to India as a key source for them.”
Razak also advocated a greater role for Malaysian construction companies, which have already completed projects $2.3 billion worth of projects here, in India’s infrastructure expansion.
“We hope Malaysian involvement in India’s infrastructure programme will continue to grow,” he said.
The Malaysian leader suggested the formation of a bilateral forum of chief executives to enable business leaders from both countries to meet and exchange views.
