India and Malaysia on Wednesday concluded their 32-month negotiations over a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (Ceca) and agreed on a framework for a strategic partnership that weaves in well with India?s Look East policy that has received a fresh impetus with Prime Minister?s three-nation tour beginning on Sunday.
Addressing mediapersons after signing a joint statement with his Malaysian counterpart Dato? Sri Mohd Najib, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, ?The statement outlines a road map for enhanced contacts between our countries at the political, business and people-to-people levels, based on our shared values of democracy and multiculturalism.?
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib said that his country was ready for a deeper and more intense relation with India. ?The Ceca is a huge strategic move in a very positive manner and will unleast the trade and business potential between the two countries. We hope to achieve bilateral trade of $15 billion by 2010,? he said.
The discussions were broad-based and all encompassing, Najib said. ?Ours is a very important relation and Prime Minister?s visit has given it a new impetus. The talks touched upon defence cooperation, maritime security, combating all forms of terrorism, higher education and employment opportunities to workers from India,? he said.
In his first bilateral visit to Malaysia, the two PMs decided to sign the Ceca by January 31 next year and implement it by July 1, 2011. Simultaneously, they launched the India-Malaysia CEOs Forum to encourage direct interaction between business and industry in each other?s country as well in third countries. Significantly, Malaysia today already agreed to give commercial banking licence to Indian banks. Petronas and ONGC Videsh also decided to set up joint ventures in third countries to exploit the hydrocarbon sector.
India and Malaysia signed three memoranda of understanding (MoUs), an agreement between CSIR and Malaysia?s UNIK on R&D collaboration in addition to the one on Ceca. Besides, they also signed a cultural exchange programme. The three MoUs relate to cooperation in the field of traditional systems of medicine, tourism and IT & services.
The Ceca, which both sides agreed to sign as a single undertaking, includes trade in goods and services and investment. Under Ceca, the two countries will provide access to each others? services market across all modes and various sectors.
They two also agreed to liberalise their investment regimes to facilitate greater FDI. They will soon finalise 2-3 areas of economic cooperation from among infrastructure development, creative industries, tourism, SMEs, business facilitation, science and technology, and human resource development.
The joint statement said the two leaders agreed to work in partnership towards achieving a more representative, more efficient and more effective UN Security Council, especially its expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories. They also reiterated their common commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and expressed serious concern at the threat of WMD proliferation and their means of delivery.