M'sian Minister Emphasis Key Issues With India's Finance Minister

By M.Saraswathi NEW DELHI (India), June 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Bernard Dompok, who is on a five-day working visit to India, had a fruitful meeting with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee with whom he discussed key issues involving both countries. From Malaysia's end, Dompok assured that the government would continue to provide a conducive environment for both Malaysian and Indian companies to cooperate and collaborate. "The business community is already interacting very well," he said, pointing out to India's Punj Lloyd-led consortium which was awarded the largest pipeline project in Malaysia, worth US$500 million, in 2008. Dompok, who is here to enhance bilateral relations between both countries, also took the opportunity to highlight the delay on some memoranda of understandings signed with regards to road projects in India. "The minister (Mukherjee) said, he is aware of the delay and would remind the respective minister," he said after having a 30-minute meeting with the Finance Minister. Present was Malaysian High Commissioner to India Tan Seng Sung, Malaysian Palm Oil Council Chief Executive Officer Yusof Basiron and Malaysian Palm Oil Board Director-General Dr Choo Yuen May. As for bilateral trade, Dompok said the Indian finance minister was happy with the current bilateral trade between both countries, which hit US$12.5 billion, last year. Mukherjee also took the opportunity to reinforce some issues to Dompok which included India's aspiration to export wheat and rice to Malaysia. Earlier, Dompok met Agriculture Minister Sharad Chandra Govindrao Pawar and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Prof Kurupassery Varkey Thomas. -- BERNAMA