Manmohan Singh to arrive in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 25 (PTI) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh will arrive here on Tuesday on a three-day visit during
which India and Malaysia will announce the conclusion of a
free-trade agreement and enhance cooperation in various
fields.
Singh, who is currently in Japan, will arrive here
on Tuesday evening with a 16-member official delegation that
includes Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and several business
leaders.
Ahead of the visit, Indian High Commissioner to
Malaysia Vijay Gokhale said the Prime Minister's visit is a
clear sign of "priority" that India accorded to Malaysia.
"The two Prime Ministers will seek ways to take the
relationship forward as they did in New Delhi (during
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak's visit in
January). Our relationship is a work in progress," he said.
The Malaysia-India "roadmap" will take a new direction
with Singh at the wheels.
His visit comes nine months after his Malaysian
counterpart Razak visited India in January, when both leaders
pledged their personal commitment to take the 53-year bond to
new frontiers.
In India, the Malaysian Prime Minister had
specifically called for the bilateral relationship to be
"strengthened exponentially".
During the visit, the two sides will sign a number of
pacts and announce conclusion of negotiations on Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which covers range of
trade aspects, including investment, services and customs.
The agreement is expected to be signed in March next
year.
India was Malaysia's 12th largest import source and
11th largest export destination last year, with bilateral
trade totalling USD 7.3 billion.
The bulk of trade is in Malaysia's favour with exports
accounting for USD 5 billion.
In his departure statement in Delhi, Sunday, Singh
had said he will seek new areas of understanding with Prime
Minister Najib "that reinforce the rich bonds of history and
culture that unite us."
The Prime Minister said he expects that his visit will
lead to greater integration of the two economies and
cooperation in the areas of infrastructure development,
railways, knowledge industries, energy, defence and greater
people-to-people exchanges.
Another highlight of the visit is the inauguration of
meeting India-Malaysia CEO Forum, a proposal mooted by Najib
in New Delhi. Both Prime Ministers are scheduled to speak at
the event.