Malaysia to push for FTA during PM Razak visit

Malaysia hopes to give a political push to their negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement with India and to collaborate in areas of IT, biotech and pharmaceuticals during Premier Mohd Najib Tun Razak's visit to New Delhi beginning January 19. Razak, accompanied by a 200 strong delegation, intends to broaden and deepen the existing close bilateral cooperation, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement.

Malaysia is expected to sign at least 13 Memoranda of Understanding with India in various fields including Highway and infrastructure projects. Most of the MoUs would be from the private sector that is engaged in a variety of projects in India. The visit would also provide an excellent opportunity for Najib and his host Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to exchange views and achieve closer understanding on issues of mutual interest, the statement said.

The premier has said that he wanted to see the Malaysia India FTA to go forward. Admitting that it had been on the backburner for a while, the premier felt that it was the right time to reignite talks and finalise the treaty by the year end. He said that the Indian economy was growing fast and that it would play an important role in international affairs.

Najib who is embarking on a five-day India visit will hold bilateral talks with Manmohan Singh on January 20. He plans to extend an invitation to Singh to visit Malaysia, the Premier said. On January 21, Najib will be visiting Chennai. Next day he will attend a CII summit there and on January 23 he will leave for Malaysia.

Najib's delegation includes several ministers, deputy ministers, chief ministers, members of parliament and senior officials as well as representatives of the business sector and the media. "Both sides are expecting that this will be a substantive visit," Najib said on the eve of his India visit.

Bilateral trade between the two countries had reached $10 billion and the premier hoped it would increase in the future. Malaysia is appreciative of India's look East Policy that has taken rapid strides under Singh who last year pushed through a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN). Besides economic ties, Malaysia and India have defence cooperation. Razak acknowledged that India had provided useful help for Sukhoi aircraft.

Meanwhile, it has been officially stated that nearly 40,000 Indian nationals have gone "missing" in Malaysia after the expiry of their tourist visas. Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak indicated that he may take up the issue with New Delhi during his forthcoming visit to India. "Almost 39046 are missing...These people, who came to Malaysia through the visa on arrival facility, could be back in India or be among people here. They have gone missing from our records," Najib told visiting Indian journalists in Putrajaya. Most of the missing Indians in Malaysia belong to Tamil Nadu.

Mohd. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, born July 23, 1953, is the sixth and current PM of Malaysia. He became Prime Minister on April 3, 2009. He is the son of Malaysia's second Prime Minister, Tun Abdul Razak.

- Asian Tribune -