Oleh/By : DATO SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : SERI PERDANA, PUTRAJAYA
Tarikh/Date : 14-05-2001
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL DINNER IN HONOUR OF
THE HONOURABLE MR ATAL BIHARI
VAJPAYEE PRIME MINISTER OF THE
REPUBLIC OF INDIA
Versi : ENGLISH
Penyampai : PM
It gives me great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to
The Hon. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India
and distinguished members of his delegation to
Malaysia. We are deeply honoured by your visit and hope
that you and members of your delegation will have a
pleasant and fruitful stay in Malaysia.
2. I regret that the Honourable Prime Minister had to
postpone his visit to Malaysia last February due to the
tragic earthquake in Gujarat. Allow me, once again, to
convey through the Honourable Prime Minister my most
profound condolences and sympathies to the bereaved
families of the victims for the loss of their beloved
ones.
3. I recall with fond memories my own visit to your
beautiful country in December 1996 during which members
of my delegation and I were received with warmth and
great hospitality. Since then, several exchanges of
visits have taken place between our two countries. I
believe that through a series of contacts and
interactions we would be able to strengthen greatly our
relations in all fields for our mutual benefit.
4. Your Excellency's visit is indeed opportune. The
discussion that we had this morning has provided us
with the opportunity to take stock of and identify ways
to further enhance our bilateral relations. I am
convinced that the Bilateral Agreements and Memoranda
of Understanding signed during your visit will provide
further impetus in forging closer cooperation between
our two countries.
5. I am happy to note that India continues to be
Malaysia's biggest trading partner in South Asia. For
the year 2000, total bilateral trade amounted to 10.07
billion Ringgit (2.23 billion U.S. Dollar). While the
trade balance has continued to be in Malaysia's favour,
we hope that such imbalance could be narrowed through
the expansion and diversification of our overall trade.
6. As we look forward to closer trade relations, we
should also be prepared to face a certain level of
competition without being subservient to the politics
of protectionism. With the entry into force of the
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement, the impact of
the opening of domestic markets will be certain to stir
up domestic resistance in sectors where local
industries have had traditional Government subsidies.
Indeed, this has already been manifested through the
difficulties encountered in the export of Malaysian
palm oil to India, which is not only being resisted by
coconut oil producers and anti-palm oil campaigns, but
also the tremendous increase in tariffs levied on palm
oil as compared to other edible oils. I believe that
no product, however efficiently produced, can bear
infinite tariff increases. It will also be
unproductive and retrogressive if better and cheaper
goods produced by developing countries themselves
should become less accessible and more expensive to the
ordinary people due to increasing tariffs, especially
when such tariffs favour similar import from developed
countries. It is important, therefore, that we seek
each other's counsel and remain positively engaged to
share the benefits of lower costs of production of
essential commodities.
7. On the investment side, we welcome India's gradual
liberalisation of its domestic economy. To date,
Malaysia's cumulative investments in India, which are
mainly in the infrastructure sector such as highways,
power development projects and modern port development,
stands at 1.7 billion Ringgit (451.31 million U.S.
Dollar). From the Indian side, we are encouraged to
note that since 1995, a total of 38 industrial projects
with a total capital investment of 669.5 million
Ringgit were approved. We are also pleased that the
Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) is currently
undertaking the construction of a railway link in
Malaysia, which is expected to be completed in January
2002. With India's rapid progress in the Information
Technology industry, we also look forward to India's
participation in our Multimedia Super Corridor.
8. Your visit will no doubt strengthen relations not
only between India and Malaysia, but also between India
and countries in Southeast Asia. The absence of
conflict between ASEAN member states and India and the
common perceptions on various issues relating to
regional peace and stability have facilitated co-
operation at various international fora. In less than a
decade, India has gained acceptance into the dialogue
process of ASEAN and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
Through the ARF process, we have become more aware of
each other's strategic concerns and more conversant
with the dynamics and realities of the political and
security environment. ASEAN has committed itself to a
Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality and opposes the
presence of nuclear armaments. In this regard, we are
happy to note that India has given a public commitment
to become a legal party to the Nuclear Free Zone in
South-east Asia, which in fact is a new dimension in
intra-regional cooperation. We are also optimistic
that India, together with Malaysia, Country Co-
ordinator for the ASEAN - India Dialogue for the period
from July 2000 to July 2003, could play a positive role
in checking the spread of nuclear proliferation and
demonstrating commitment to the goals of nuclear
disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass
destruction.
9. I believe that it would not be incorrect to say
that India has assumed a new awareness and desire to be
counted amongst the leading nations of Asia. This is a
legitimate aspiration for a country that is
statistically regarded as one of the ten fastest
growing economies today. We trust and hope that India
will stay committed to the process of peaceful
negotiations in the settlement of conflicts in the
region.
10. Globalisation is also a subject of interest to
both our countries. The impact of globalisation is not
confined to the economic sphere. The political
structure and social matrix of a state is neither
isolated nor immune from the effects of globalisation.
Globalisation is expected to bring about a greater
degree of interdependence among nation-states as their
economic as well as political activities become
interlocked. It is most unfortunate, however, that
developing countries are not able to share the benefits
of globalisation in a fair and equitable manner.
Developing countries need to seriously address
globalisation. Malaysia also looks forward to working
closely with India in meeting the challenges of
globalisation.
11. In conclusion, let me once again welcome you and
members of your delegation to Malaysia and hope that
you will have a productive and memorable visit.
Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri
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