Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : DIWAN AM, TAJ MAHAL HOTEL, INDIA
Tarikh/Date : 14/12/93
Tajuk/Title : THE DIALOGUE SESSION WITH THE
CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRY
Mr. Jamshyd Godrej, President of the Confederation of Indian
Industry;
Excellencies;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) for giving me this opportunity to address
prominent Indian and Malaysian businessmen and to share my
thoughts on how we can further enhance Malaysia-India
bilateral economic and trade cooperation. I have with me a
delegation of 30 Malaysian businessmen who have great
interest in strengthening trade and investment links between
our two countries together with a delegation of officials
representing economic Ministries for clarificaton on
policies and for support and follow-up on bilateral
cooperation.
2. Trade between our two countries goes back hundreds of
years to the time when Indian traders pioneered the initial
trade and established beneficial economic links with the
Malay States. Those early contacts with India not only
encouraged the exchange of goods but also provided a conduit
for cross-cultural exchanges in the literary and technical
fields that have proven mutually beneficial. These links
have strengthened over the years and today our two countries
have been able to nurture and shape our commercial relations
to higher levels that have facilitated further exchanges in
our economic development.
3. Today, India is Malaysia's largest trading partner in
South Asia. The quantum and value of our bilateral trade
has increased steadily and last year stood at US$769
million. For the first eight months of this year, bilateral
trade recorded a value of US$388 million with import of
Indian goods amounting to US$250 million and exports of
Malaysian goods to India amounting to US$138 million.
4. Though these figures are quite impressive, there
remains many areas that both the Indian and Malaysian
business community could tap in order to promote further the
level of trade and investment links between our two
countries. It is clear that the level of our bilateral
trade represents only a small proportion of our respective
global trade. This belies the vast potential that exists
for commercial relations between our two countries.
Also, our bilateral trade has been largely confined to the
export and import of commodities. In 1992 about 83 per cent
of Malaysia's exports to India was made up of primary
commodities such as petroleum, palm oil, sawn timber, tin
and rubber. This contrasts with Malaysia's total exports,
71 percent of which is made up of manufactured goods. In
the same year about 45 percent of Malaysia's imports from
India were made up of commodities including meat, feed stuff
for animals, vegetables and tubers, rice, wheat, spices and
other agricultural commodities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
5. Given the current efforts to liberalise further our
respective economies, the private sector of both countries
must not let the opportunity slip by. New avenues and areas
of trade and investments must be opened up. The cross-flows
of Malaysian and Indian investments will provide the much
needed anchor to enhance our economic links. Malaysian and
Indian businessmen have gained considerable experience in
joint-ventures and partnerships in not only the manufacture
of consumer goods but also the fabrication of machinery and
related heavy industrial equipment. You have also acquired
the experience and expertise in the services sector ranging
from construction and engineering, telecommunications,
banking and insurance to general consultancy services and
human resource development. Unfortunately we tend to
overlook these opportunities because of our preocupation
with the traditional partners.
6. To Indian businessmen, I urge you to seriously look at
the vast opportunities in Malaysia as a result of seven
years of strong and broad based economic growth. We have
designed an attractive package of investment incentives that
have brought a large inflow of investors from Japan, Taiwan,
the United States, EC and our own partners in ASEAN. Whilst
some of the bigger investors from India are already in
Malaysia to benefit from our own drive towards development
and industrialisation, I believe there are many more Indian
industrialists who have the technology and the capability to
participate in a wide range of industrial ventures in
Malaysia. Your strength in engineering-based ancillary and
supporting industries could fit in well with our own efforts
at developing corresponding sectors in Malaysia. It would
also provide the necessary linkages to the established
electronic, electrical and motor vehicle industries such as
electroplating, heat treatment, stamping, precision
machining, mould and die subcomponents, precision plastic
moulding and packaging for sensitive electronic components.
You also have the capability to strike partnerships with
Malaysian industrialists in the manufacture of industrial
machinery and parts, machine tools and related engineering
industries.
7. To Malaysian businessmen, I urge you to take stock of
liberalisation measures currently being undertaken by India
and to plan for greater involvement in economic
opportunities arising from such liberalisation. The trade
and market reforms undertaken by India makes the trade
regime more transparent and promotes competition. With a
floating exchange rate for the Rupee there is greater
convertibility which should facilitate trade in goods and
services. Protection levels are coming down with a definite
programme of tariff reductions being implemented. The
Government of India has taken courageous measures to open up
various sectors of the domestic economy for participation
by foreign investors and has designed a package of
investment incentives to encourage the inflow of direct
foreign investment.
8. Many Malaysian entrepreneurs have already
invested overseas in countries like China, Vietnam, Papua
New Guinea, Mauritius and Chile. Some are already investing
in India. They have acquired experience in the development
of export processing zones, the construction of hotels and
tourist resorts, provision of telecommunication services,
banking as well as the traditional area of plantation
management. I am confident that they would be able to find
ready partners in India to undertake rapid industrialisation
arising from the liberalisation measures embarked by the
Governments of India and Malaysia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
9. I need not remind you that at the political level,
Malaysia and India have fostered stable and strong
relations. At the bilateral level, several mechanisms are
already emplaced to facilitate trade and investment. Air
links between Malaysia and India, established since the
signing of a bilateral Air Services Agreement in 1974, have
been intensified with a greater frequency of flights
operated by our respective national airlines. The Economic,
Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement concluded
between both governments in 1991 provides the official
framework through which further measures for enhancing
cooperation could be examined and through which the
resolution of problems that may arise in such cooperation
could be worked out. We will continue to explore the
viability of concluding other economic agreements on a
Government to Government basis to provide greater confidence
among our entrepreneurs to engage in joint commercial
ventures with greater intensity. At the level of the G-15,
networking between entrepreneurs from Malaysia and India can
be widened through the South Investment, Trade and
Technology Data Exchange Centre (SITTDEC) based in Kuala
Lumpur.
10. At the multilateral level our two countries have worked
closely in support of the U.N. and its activities. We
subscribe to free trade and are strong proponents of a
multilateral trading system based on rules and disciplines
that can ensure predictability and transparency which can
curb unilateral actions. We stand committed to the
successful and balanced conclusion of the Uruguay Round.
The results of the Uruguay Round will only be meaningful to
us if our entrepreneurs are ready to make brave commercial
decisions to benefit from the liberalisation of world trade
and liberalisation of investment rules.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
11. I hope that you will take the opportunity from this
gathering not only to renew ties or make new contacts, but
to discuss the more serious business of business itself. I
am sure that bilateral discussion that have been arranged
for this occasion will yield viable business ventures
between our two countries.
Thank you.
|
|