The Hindu : Front Page : Badawi suggests trade agreement

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 21, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Badawi suggests trade agreement

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh receives his Malaysian counterpart Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. Looking on is Mr. Badawi's wife, Datin Edon Mahmood. — Photo: V. Sudershan

NEW DELHI, DEC. 20. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, today suggested ``some form of free trade agreement'' with India to catalyse greater economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

On his first visit to India after assuming office, Mr. Badawi said as India ``looked east'', Malaysia was ``looking west'' at India and West Asia. ``Let me be patently clear — I am here to build new bridges, construct new economic alliances, and generate fresh economic cooperation. And I do so in the cause of our common future in an increasingly competitive world.''

Mr. Badawi, who held discussions with the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and called on the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said bilateral trade had gone up from a paltry $467 million to $3.2 billion last year. Pointing out that Malaysia was India's largest trade partner in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said trade this year would cross $4.5 billion.

Three agreements were signed in the presence of the Prime Ministers — one between Antrix Coropration Ltd., commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and the Measat Global to pool their satellite capacities, a letter of intent between Antrix and Measat on procurement of Measat-4 satellite and an agreement for construction of a new international airport in Hyderabad.

The consortium of GMR Infrastructure Limited and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad has been selected by the Andhra Pradesh and Central Governments following a competitive bidding process to develop a Greenfield international airport through public private partnership at Shamshabad near Hyderabad, about 20 km from the existing airport at Begumpet.

12 MoUs signed

Twelve more memoranda of understanding were signed separately between Indian and Malaysian companies at the business forum addressed by Mr. Badawi this afternoon. These included agreements in railways, information technology and biotechnology.

Pointing to the many similarities between India and Malaysia, he stressed, ``... Like India, Malaysia is striving to sustain massive economic growth in order to ensure social justice. Like you, we want all our people to benefit from sustained economic growth. Like you, we don't want to leave behind a single citizen because of a lack of opportunity for education and employment. And like you, we want to make an impact internationally at this time of rapid globalisation."

Malaysia, he underlined, was keen to invest more to strengthen India's infrastructure and referred to the statement from New Delhi that half a trillion dollars' worth investment would be required in the next few years.

According to him, ``partnership'' was the operative word in this interdependent world. ``Malaysia and India are not only partners in ensuring progress for our respective societies as two of the biggest economies of the developing world, it is also incumbent on us to fashion partnerships with other countries that can use our joint expertise for their own domestic economic and social advancement.''

``For example, construction companies from both countries can form joint ventures to explore opportunities together not only in India and Malaysia, but also in other countries in ASEAN, the Middle East [West Asia], Central Asia, East Asia and Northern, Central and Southern Africa.''

Investment destination

In a message that Malaysia was a sound investment destination for Indian companies, Mr. Badawi said the country honoured its contracts — that means foreign capital was safe, repatriation was guaranteed and no one needed to have doubts about the integrity of the Malaysian financial system.

Pointing out that much more needed to be done on the trade front, he said, ``I cannot emphasise the role Malaysia can play as a gateway to ASEAN, which has emerged as a dynamic and competitive region with a combined GDP of $686 billion in 2003, with a population of more than 540 million, with high literacy rates, and an expanding industrial sector ... ''

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