On Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar co-chaired the 6th India-Malaysia Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Malaysian Foreign Minister (FM) Zambry Abdul Kadir in New Delhi.
In an interview with PTI, Kadir said that the two sides were considering reviewing the 2011 trade pact between the two countries and exploring possibilities of trade in local currency.
Review of Trade Pact, Trade in Local Currency
The Malaysian FM held that the two countries were considering reviewing the 12-year-old Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which came into effect in July 2011, to include new trade areas, like the digital economy, and other emerging sectors.
Co-chaired along with FM @ZambryOfficial the 6th 🇮🇳-🇲🇾 Joint Commission Meeting in New Delhi.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 7, 2023
Reviewed progress on our political, defence & security, trade and finance , health, energy, education, maritime cooperation, culture, tourism and people-to-people cooperation.
Also… pic.twitter.com/hsUoG4FHtv
Currently, the CECA covers trade in goods, services, investments and movement of people.
Additionally, Kadir said both countries are finalising a framework to conduct trade in national currencies.
The Malaysian FM also highlighted Kuala Lumpur’s interest in expanding defence cooperation with New Delhi, including procurement of military hardware and platforms.
Kadir added that both sides are keen to expand trade engagement in new and emerging areas such as electronics, semiconductors, fintech, renewable energy, new technology, and startups.
He further expressed gratitude to India for providing 170,000 metric tonnes non-basmati white rice when the country was undergoing a shortage of rice.
Discussion on West Asia, Indo-Pacific
In the meeting, both sides asserted their strong commitment to further strengthen cooperation in all sectors.
“This meeting marks the sixth in the series of JCMs between Malaysia and India, with the last one taking place in Kuala Lumpur in 2011,” a statement by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said.
The two ministers reviewed progress in trade, finance, politics, defence and security, and detailed discussions on health, energy, education, maritime cooperation, culture, tourism and people-to-people cooperation, were also held.
I successfully co-chaired the 6th Joint Commission Meeting together with my counterpart, Dr S. Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India. Significant outcomes from the meeting include the strong commitment of both sides to further strengthen cooperation in all sectors. pic.twitter.com/Ae1iTYnjPQ
— Zambry Abd Kadir (@ZambryOfficial) November 8, 2023
Additionally, the two sides shared perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, ASEAN, West Asia, and other regional and global issues.
The Enhanced Strategic Partnership between India and Malaysia was also reviewed during the meeting.
Meeting with Vice President, India-Malaysia Ties
The Malaysian FM was in India for a three-day visit. He also visited Indian Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to expand the partnership with a view to taking Malaysia-India relations to a higher level.
India and Malaysia marked 65 years of diplomatic ties in 2022.
The ties were elevated to an enhanced strategic partnership in 2015. The two countries issued a roadmap for cooperation in 2017.
In 2022, India was Malaysia’s 11th largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to $19.63 billion.