PM arrives in Malaysia; expected to sign several deals

Ajay Kaul
Kuala Lumpur, Oct 26 (PTI) India and Malaysia will
announce firming up of a bilateral trade-opening pact and are
expected to sign five other deals Wednesday when Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh holds talks with his counterpart Mohd
Najib Tun Abdul Razak on a wide range of issues aimed at
boosting ties.
After their talks, the two leaders will sign a
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which will
say that the pact will be formally signed in January next year
and will come into force from July next year, sources said
here Tuesday.
The agreement, which will lead to slashing of tariffs
and ensure freer movement of investment, services and customs,
will not be signed during Singh's three-day visit here that
began Tuesday as the pact has to go through "legal scrubbing".
The two sides are also expected to sign five other
agreements in areas including science and technology, IT,
culture and tourism after the talks between Singh and Razak.
Singh arrived here this evening to a rousing welcome
with three Malaysian Ministers – Deputy Foreign Minister
Kohilan Pillay (standing in for Foreign Minister who is on
tour), Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam and MoS in the
PMO Dato Devaman – receiving him at the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport.
He was accorded a red-carpet welcome and Guard of
Honour at the Airport.
Singh is accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur and a
high-level delegation, including Commerce Minister Anand
Sharma.
The Prime Minister embarked on the Malaysian visit
after concluding a productive tour of Japan where the two
sides announced the firming up of Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement, which will open trade between the two
countries and slash taxes up to 94 per cent over the next
decade.
Singh had a tight schedule in Tokyo which included
talks with his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan, leaders from
business and politics during which they discussed ways to
further improve their ties.
Singh said "sky is the limit" for developing Japan-
India relations, a proposition which is close to his heart.
Summing up Singh's Japan visit, Foreign Secretary
Nirupama Rao said the two Prime Ministers had "comprehensive"
discussions and felt the need for developing all encompassing
relations covering political, economy and security aspects.
PTI