Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : NEW DELHI, INDIA
Tarikh/Date : 20/12/96
Tajuk/Title : THE OFFICIAL DINNER HOSTED BY HIS
EXCELLENCY HEGDE DEVE GOWDA PRIME
MINISTER OF INDIA
1. Let me first of all, thank you, Mr. Prime
Minister, for you warm words of welcome and kind
tribute to the Government and people of Malaysia. I
would also like to express my appreciation for the
gracious hospitality and excellent arrangements
accorded to me, my wife and members of my delegation
since our arrival yesterday. It has always been a
pleasure for me to be in India, since I always feel
that I am among friends here, and during my stay
here, I look forward to seeing a bit more of this
great country.
2. Last month, during the Sixth Summit meeting of
the Group of 15 in Harare, we had the opportunity to
meet and discuss a wide range of issues of common
interest, in particular on ways to draw our two
countries closer together through cooperative
endeavours. My visit here today is to reaffirm
Malaysia's commitment to this spirit of South-South
Cooperation. We will have the opportunity to
explore new avenues to strengthen and deepen the
close bonds of friendship and cooperation between
our two countries. Our discussion this evening has
been fruitful in charting the future course of our
relations and I am happy with your Government's
willingness and commitment to pursue our common
goals. I am confident that together we can chart a
new era of cooperative relationship, especially in
the economic and commercial fields, that will ensure
progress and prosperity for our peoples.
3. In this context, I am happy to see the growing
trend in the trade and economic cooperation between
our two countries during the last few years.
Bilateral trade had exceeded the one billion dollar
mark in 1995 and during the last nine months it has
exceeded US$1.16 billion dollars. While this
impressive growth in our trade augurs well for the
future, it still constitutes a small proportion of
our global trade. At the same time the range of
goods traded are confined to a few commodities and
semi manufactured items. Much more needs to be done
if we are to realise the full potentials of our
trade. The private sector must be encouraged to
explore new range of products and establish mutually
profitable linkages. Our chambers of commerce should
play a more aggressive role to promote and assist
our exporters and importers in identifying and
sourcing for new range of products. We have a long
history of trading links and a reservoir of goodwill
and familiarity that can be mobilised to expand our
trading potentials.
4. Malaysia is following with keen interest the
rapid economic changes that are taking place in
India. The liberalisation and de-regulation exercise
have brought accelerated economic progress and
transformed the country into an attractive
investment centre in South Asia. I am confident
that as India continues to deepen and broaden her
reform programmes, she will emerge as a formidable
economic tiger in Asia. Malaysia welcomes the
opportunity to exchange experiences and expertise
with India. Our entrepreneurs and investors are
keen and ready to enter into a mutually rewarding
partnership with their Indian counterparts, to
jointly undertake and develop infrastructural
projects such as highways, power,
telecommunications, ports and other areas where we
have the experience and capabilities. The large
private sector delegation accompanying my visit here
is evidence of their interest and keeness to
participate in India's economic development.
5. With globalisation and the breaking down of
national barriers, it has become imperative for us
to stay competitive to ensure a place for us in the
global market. Here the private sector has a
crucial role to play. While the sector has been the
main engine of growth domestically, it needs to
absorb new technologies and keep pace with the rapid
development taking place in the international arena.
Our comparative advantage will be diminished unless
new technologies are efficiently absorbed and new
ideas adopted. Our private sectors must be prepared
to form strategic alliances to maximise each other's
comparative advantages.
6. Malaysia and India possess the ability and
capacity to form strategic linkages particularly
between our private sectors. Collaboration and
cooperation especially in the fields of science and
technology, software development, precision machine
tools and information and aerospace technology are
some areas where opportunities exist for cooperation
and development. Additionally, our entrepreneurs
should also look beyond our respective borders and
explore the feasibility of teaming up to participate
in joint venture projects in third countries. I am
confident that with the existing favourable economic
environment in Asia, Latin America and certain areas
of Africa, there are tremendous opportunities for
our private sectors to cooperate and participate in
the economic development of these regions.
7. Malaysia's own experience in economic
liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation has
generated sustained economic growth for more than a
decade. There are tremendous opportunities and
possibilities for India's private sector to actively
participate in our economic development. At the
same time, India's admission as a full dialogue
partner of ASEAN and a member of the ASEAN Regional
Forum, has opened new possibilities of cooperation
with countries in the region. This linkage with one
of the most dynamic regional groupings will further
complement our strong bilateral bond. Malaysia
looks forward to this new era of cooperative
relationship with India.
8. We discussed at great length in Harare, on the
need for countries of the South to work together and
resist attempts by the North to impose
conditionalities and selectivity in the conduct of
international trade and investment. Cooperation
among the developing countries is a necessity if we
are to ensure that our plight and concerns are taken
seriously. Many issues were introduced to stifle
our economic development and I am not surprised if
there will be many more in the future. We must
therefore maintain regular consultations and stand
ready to articulate our views and concerns at the
appropriate fora. Only through a consistent and
collective approach can we ensure our success.
9. Malaysia-India relations have survived the test
of time. Given the dynamic changes globally, the
time is now opportune for the two countries to build
on the existing reservoir of goodwill, understanding
and friendship, an edifice of mutually beneficial
economic and commercial linkages that will
accelerate our economic progress and ensure peace
and prosperity for our peoples. The present
environment offers tremendous possibilities and
opportunities. We should not allow it to slip by.
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