“India Continues To Be One Of Our Important Sources Of FDI.”
Construction World|November 2017

This year is a landmark for Malaysia for more than one reason. It marks both the 60 th year of Malaysian independence and the 60 th year of formal India- Malaysia diplomatic relations, “which have been strong and friendly since the establishment of diplomatic relationships in 1957,” says Mazlan Harun, Consul/ Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Malaysia. Posted in Mumbai, in his current role, Harun promotes Malaysia’s enterprises, products and services among the Indian business community. The consulate in Mumbai has also assisted Indian companies looking for Malaysian business partners and facilitated Malaysian companies planning to invest in India. Harun elaborates upon the current trade relationship and emerging opportunities, especially in construction, in conversation with SHRIYAL SETHUMADHAVAN.

Shriyal Sethumadhavan
“India Continues To Be One Of Our Important Sources Of FDI.”

Tell us about the bilateral relationship between India and Malaysia.

Being home to one of the largest Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) communities in the world, the historical legacy has assisted in extending the relationship to cover multifaceted cooperation in trade and investment; science and technology; education; human resource development, tourism and culture. Acknowledging the importance of India in terms of trade and investment, Malaysia, together with the other Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) member countries, signed the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area (AIFTA); the free trade agreement came into effect on January 1, 2010. The relationship was further elevated in 2011 with the signing of the Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA), a bilateral free trade agreement. Two other important economic initiatives that involve India and Malaysia are the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is currently being negotiated between ASEAN and its FTA partners, including India, China and Japan. Second, Malaysia is one of the 57 founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is championed by India.

In general, India is an important market and has always been Malaysia’s biggest trading partner in South Asia, making up a 76.3 per cent share of Malaysia’s total trade with the region in 2016. Bilateral trade has increased almost fivefold for the past 15 years. From 2001 to 2016, the average trade growth was 13.2 per cent. Owing to the tough external environment, Malaysia’s trade with India experienced a marginal decline from $12.02 billion in 2015 to $11.72 billion in 2016, positioning India as the country’s 10 th largest trading partner. India was Malaysia’s seventh largest export destination in 2016 with exports valued at $7.72 billion.

This story is from the November 2017 edition of Construction World.

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This story is from the November 2017 edition of Construction World.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.