Najib inspects a guard of honour on his arrival in New Delhi. — Reuters pic
Kuala Lumpur mooted a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) with New Delhi some months after Singapore and India signed a Ceca in June 2005 — the most ambitious agreement of its kind attempted by India until then.
But progress on the Malaysia-India Ceca has been slow due to political difficulties on both sides, Malaysian officials said.
Meanwhile, Asean and India clinched a free trade agreement (FTA) that came into effect three weeks ago. While Malaysia is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the FTA, Najib wants to do more to take bilateral trade beyond the current US$10 billion (RM34 billion) level.
“Our bilateral trade has been growing at an annual pace of 23 per cent over the past five years,” he told a luncheon meeting organised by industry chambers in New Delhi yesterday.
“It is time to take our collaboration to a higher level. The Ceca is vital for us to conclude and I would like to see it in place by the end of the year if possible.”
Najib, faced with flagging growth at home, is looking for new engines to boost economic expansion, and India’s US$1.2 trillion economy, which some expect to clock double-digit expansion next year, is a huge lure.
Malaysian infrastructure companies have completed 51 projects in India worth US$2.3 billion in recent years, and are currently handling contracts worth a similar sum. These range from airports to highways and parking facilities.
India has emerged as the nation with the largest infrastructure plans, Najib noted.
“It is mind-boggling when you think that India is planning to spend half a trillion dollars on infrastructure over the next five years,” he said. “Malaysian companies have a good track record in infrastructure and they tell me that the Indian government is a good paymaster.”
He also made a strong pitch for Indian companies to consider listing their shares on the Malaysian board and to tap its capital markets.
“Our capital market is broad-based and our regulatory framework meets international standards,” he said. “Our bond market is the third largest in Asia on a GDP-adjusted basis, after Japan and South Korea. The World Bank and International Finance Corp have all generated funding through our bond market.”
Earlier, Najib was given a ceremonial welcome in the forecourt of the magnificent presidential palace.
Eight Cabinet ministers, a deputy minister and five state chief ministers are part of his 220-plus strong delegation, described as one of the largest entourages taken overseas by a Malaysian leader.
Najib held formal talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and called on President Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Hamid Ansari. He also called on Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence and will meet her son, second-time MP Rahul Gandhi, today.
His four-day trip ends tomorrow in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, where he will address the Confederation of Indian Industry’s annual partnership summit.
The trip to Tamil Nadu is a calibrated political gesture from a government that has been criticised frequently in India, particularly in the southern Indian state, over its handling of issues relating to the Indian minority.
Malaysia has complained that more than 44,000 Indians had overstayed their visas but Najib pledged that he would work to ease the visa restrictions on Indian nationals that had been imposed as a result. — The Straits Times
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