Indo-Malaysia trade target of $15bn to be met by 2015: Najib Razak

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and India have great potential to expand bilateral trade and investment, Premier Najib Razak has said, voicing confidence that the trade target of USD 15 billion would be reached by 2015 in the wake of the landmark comprehensive economic cooperation pact between them.

Najib, who is seen as a pro-India leader, said "What is heartening is that for first nine months of this year, (bilateral) trade hit USD 9.4 billion, representing an increase of 34.8 per cent over the same period last year."

The Premier, who also handles the Finance portfolio, said his optimism was particularly buoyed by the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement ( CECA) signed between the two countries in February and which came into force from July this year.

"We are confident that with the rollout of CECA and continued government focus, the 47.7 billion ringgit (USD 15 billion) trade target will be met by 2015 and quite possibly before," he said in his keynote address at a CECA commemoration gala dinner here last night, which was attended by visiting Minister of State for Textiles Minister P Lakshmi.

Najib noted that while the trade figures were promising, Malaysian and Indian companies had yet to take full advantage of the trade and investment opportunities available in each other's countries.

"As with the overall bilateral trade volume set by both governments, the key stakeholders in specific sectors should also collectively set ambitious targets. This approach is especially relevant within the many areas in which the introduction of CECA has delivered new incentives and removed historic limitations and barriers," he said.