KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 — India's Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, who is on a two-day visit to Malaysia, highlighted the vast potential for bilateral trade expansion between Malaysia and India, particularly in sectors such as food engineering and electronics.
Muraleedharan, who arrived on Thursday (June 1), also encouraged the Malaysian business community to actively engage in India's trade and business initiatives.
“India is a land of incredible diversity and has so much to offer to everyone. I urge the business community to explore these opportunities,” he said in his speech at a luncheon hosted on Friday in his honour, at the Royal Lake Club by the Consortium of Indian Industries in Malaysia (CIIM) and the Malaysia India Business Council (MIBC).
The luncheon was also attended by MIBC president Tan Sri Kuna Sittampalam, CIIM chairman Datuk Umang Sharma, Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia B.N. Reddy, and various captains of industry.
Regarding investments in the manufacturing sector, Muraleedharan noted the limitless opportunities for foreign participation in areas including infrastructure, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, renewable energy, space technology, textiles, agriculture, and food processing.
Highlighting the strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties between Malaysia and India, he said trade between the two countries has reached US$20 billion (RM91.5 billion), making Malaysia India's third-largest trading partner within Asean while India stood as one of Malaysia's top 10 trading partners.
Meanwhile, Umang in his speech stated over 250 Indian companies have invested more than US$3 billion (RM13.7 billion) across various sectors in Malaysia. These investments have directly created job opportunities for over 30,000 Malaysians and indirectly contributed to over 100,000 jobs.
Additionally, Sharma expressed hope for the review of the Malaysia - India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Miceca), first signed in 2011, in the near future.
He believes this review can unlock great potential, allowing both countries to increase bilateral trade from the current US$20 billion to US$30 billion (RM137.3 billion) by 2027, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and India.
— Bernama
