KUALUMPUR: (AMN) India and Malaysia on Wednesday signed an agreement towards implementing Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between two countries
Minister for Commerce & Industry Anand Sharma, and the Malaysian International Trade & Industry Minister signed CECA here in the presence of the Prime Ministers of India and Malaysia.
The Agreement is an indication of the conclusion of CECA negotiations and it outlines the broad contours of the CECA.
The CECA would be implemented from July next year. The agreement is expected to give a big impetus to economic ties of two countries. Both the countries have also decided to enhance their defence ties and set up a bilateral joint working group on counter terrorism at an early date.
The Agreement would lead to the signing and implementation of the India-Malaysia CECA. In trade in goods, the Agreement proposes that the CECAcommitments between India and Malaysia would be more liberal than those under the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement. In trade in services, the Agreement envisages that, under the CECA, trade in services will be progressively liberalized on a preferential basis, with substantial sectoral coverage, including Movement of Professionals and Skilled Persons, Cross-border Supply, and Telecommunications Services to provide commercially meaningful market access to both parties.
Agreements and MOU’s in the areas of Information Technology and services, tourism, traditional medicine, cultural exchanges and scientific research development were also signed.
In a brief interaction with the media after their talks, the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak expressed the hope that the two countries will be able to achieve the target of carrying their trade to 15 billion dollars by 2015.
He described his talks with Dr Manmohan Singh as fruitful and broad based.
In his remarks, Dr Manmohan Singh said the understanding and agreements reached on Wednesday have established a solid foundation for the building of a Strategic Partnership, and bringing peoples of the two countries together for a better future.
The Prime Ministers of the two countries also jointly launched India Malaysia CEO Forum. The Forum has proposed nine priority areas that will help in complementing the initiatives taken by the two governments to take their economic ties to a new high. Later the two leaders launched, Little India in KuaLumpur which is inhabited predominantly by people from the Indian community. Speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said the Malaysian Government’s decision to dedicate the area of Brickfields, one of the oldest Indian settlements in the country, as "Little India" is a tribute to the contribution to nation building of all Malaysians of Indian origin.
Malaysia is the 3rd largest trading partner of India amongst ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries. India–Malaysia trade increased from US$ 3.38 billion to US$ 8.01 billion between 2004-05 and 2009-10 after reaching a peak of US$ 10.60 billion in 2008-09. The main exports from India include petroleum products, metals, machinery, meat, chemicals, spices and cereals; the main imports include, electronic goods, edible oil, wood, chemicals and metals