Malaysia-India Bilateral Trade On Track To Achieve US$15 Bln By 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Bilateral trade between Malaysia and India is on track to achieve the US$15 billion (US$1 = RM3.15) target by 2015, Prime Minister Najib Razak said. He said total trade from January to September this year jumped 34.8 per cent to US$9.4 billion over the same period last year and had surpassed the whole year trade of US$7.1 billion in 2010. "We are confident that with the rollout of CECA (Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement) and continued government focus, the targeted US$15 billion trade target will be met by 2015, and even quite possibly before," he said at the CECA Commemoration Gala Dinner here Tuesday night. He said despite the improvement, there was much room for further expansion in the quantity and quality of the economic ties. "It is therefore crucial that the benefits and liberalisation brought about by CECA are widely and effectively disseminated, particularly to the various trade, commerce, manufacturing and industry associations as well as to professional bodies," he said. Najib said that from the Malaysian point of view, the chambers in India could play a key role in delivering the needs of Indian entrepreneurs in order for Malaysia to attract investments from India. He said looking beyond Malaysia-India and considering that CECA complemented the Asean-India Free Trade Agreement, the Malaysian trade and industry associations could also play a role to bring India and Asean closer together. "In this regard, Malaysia is ready to continue to facilitate the entry of Indian entrepreneurs into South East Asia," he added. Signed on Feb 18 this year in Putrajaya, CECA covers trade, services, investment and other areas, covering financial services, telecommunication, temporary movement of persons, ICT and biotechnology among others. -- BERNAMA Malaysia