Malaysia ready to act as India's gateway into ASEAN:PM

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 19 (PTI) In a boost to bilateral ties,
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak Friday said his
country was ready to facilitate entry of Indian entrepreneurs
into South-East Asia and act as India’s gateway into ASEAN.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a
grouping of ten countries of the region.
“I reiterate that Malaysia will do what is necessary for
Indian entrepreneurs to increasingly view Malaysia as a
strategic commercial destination – a destination that can play
a key role in their business’ onward growth and international
expansions.
“Given the very strong formal and personal relationship
between both governments, I am confident that we can provide
the right political ambience which will result in the
burgeoning of commercial activities between the two countries
and between ASEAN and India,”", he said.
Razak was speaking at the Asia Pacific Conference 2010
themed ‘Asean & India: Going Global’ organised by The Indus
Entrepreneurs (TiE) Malaysia.
Malaysia, Razak said, would continue to engage India
while continuing to play a leading role in building on
existing linkages between ASEAN and India.
“Our commitment is underscored by my visit to India
earlier this year as well as the recent visit of my Indian
counterpart Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Malaysia", he
said.
Singh was in Malaysia late last month on a three-day
visit.
Many landmark agreements were also inked to boost trade
and investment flow between both countries.
“The Securities Commission and the Stock Exchange Board of
India, have also signed an agreement paving the way for
improved opportunities in cross border capital market
activities,” Razak said.
He said Bursa Malaysia was working with TiE to encourage
Indian and non-resident Indian businesses to grab
opportunities offered by the Malaysian capital market.
The government, he said, would continue to pursue policies
that would help entrepreneurs to thrive .
He said it will focus on initiatives that “will clearly
communicate to the world that Malaysia is a country on the
move”.
ASEAN and India represented a market of 1.7 billion people
with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately
USD 3 trillion he said.
TiE Malaysia president Sittampalam said they were planning
to set up a TiE Asean secretariat here by June next year to
fortify Malaysia’s position as a hub to facilitate ASEAN-India
partnership. PTI JB
RET