WTC Mumbai to promote India-Malaysia ties
The ASEAN member country of Malaysia has a prominent place in the commercial relation of India. Malaysia hosts the third largest Indian-origin community after USA and UAE. It is the third largest trade partner of India in the 10-member ASEAN bloc and 150 Indian companies have operation in this country. India has the largest presence of Malaysian construction companies. Both countries observed 65 years of diplomatic relationship last year and there is strong bilateral engagement in other sectors such as defence, tourism, traditional medicine, cultural and education exchange.
WTC Mumbai organized an interactive meeting with the consular officials of Malaysia in Mumbai to discuss areas of partnership to strengthen bilateral trade and investment in untapped sectors.
Mr. Ahmad Zuwairi Yusoff, Consul General, Consulate General of Malaysia in Mumbai remarked, “The Consular offices of Malaysia in Mumbai are keen to partner with WTC Mumbai in organizing trade programs, trade fairs and facilitating trade delegation between both countries. Our Consulate is also keen to partner with the research initiatives of WTC Mumbai to explore untapped bilateral trade and investment potential.”
Mr. Yusoff pointed out that the objective of this meeting was to explore partnership with WTC Mumbai to strengthen bilateral trade, investment and people-to-people ties. He informed, ‘‘India aims to be USD 30 trillion economy by 2047 and Malaysia can play an important role in the economic development of India. In order to promote people to people ties, Malaysia extends premium visa and multiple entry visa to Indian citizens. Multiple entry visa, which was earlier given only for business visits, has been extended for other visits such as wedding and cultural events.”
Mr. Norman Dzulkarnain Nasri, Consul (Trade), Consulate General of Malaysia highlighted the potential areas of cooperation between both countries. He said, “Digital technologies and vocational training are emerging areas of collaboration. Malaysia can support India’s semiconductor manufacturing program as it has proven expertise in semiconductor manufacturing. There is a huge electronic manufacturing cluster in Penang in Malaysia. Also, we have huge deposit of silica, which is used in semiconductor. India has strong technical education institutions such as IITs and Malaysia needs Indian professionals for conducting vocational training in electronics and digital technology sectors.”
Earlier in her welcome remarks, Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, WTC Mumbai pointed out, “WTC Mumbai is a multi-dimensional trade support institution and we shall be pleased to collaborate with the trade promotion initiatives of Malaysian Consular offices. The current trade value between India and Malaysia is USD 19 billion, which can be raised to USD 25 billion if we utilize the two trade agreements signed between both countries. Indian exporters can utilize the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and also our FTA with ASEAN to gain concessional market access in Malaysia. Specifically, Malaysia has offered tariff concession on 140 items under the CECA with India. Some of these items are basmati rice, mangoes, eggs, trucks, motorcycles and cotton garments, where India has export opportunities in Malaysia.”
In Photo: Mr. Ahmad Zuwairi Yusoff, Consul General, Consulate General of Malaysia (2nd from left) being felicitated by Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, MVIRDC WTC Mumbai. Also seen in the photograph are (From left to right): Mr. Norman Dzulkarnain Nasri, Consul (Trade), Consulate General of Malaysia and Mr. Shazri Hidayat ABD Shukor, Consul, (Investment), Consulate General of Malaysia