M'SIA, INDIA CAN IMPROVE TRADE TIES

MIRI (Malaysia), March 16 (Bernama) -- There is still room for Malaysia and
India to improve their long bilateral trade relationship despite the current
economic slowdown.

Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia Ashok Kumar Khanta said the two
countries shared certain compatibilities and requirements to open up
opportunities to strengthen their relationship.

Speaking at a dinner reception organised by the Miri Indian Association
(MIA) for him here, he said that despite the economic slowdown, trade
between India and Malaysia increased by 30 per cent last year, with total trade
balance recorded at more than US$10.5 billion (about RM38.77 billion).

He added that Malaysian companies were undertaking projects worth more than
US$5 billion (RM18.5 billion) in construction segments in India while Indian
companies had also expanded their ventures in Malaysia to cover major projects
in East Malaysia states - Sabah and Sarawak - respectively.

In Sabah, he said that India's leading pulp and paper company Ballarpur
Industries Ltd had invested over RM350 million in a joint venture project with
Sabah Forestry, while another, Punj Lloyd Ltd, was involved in the RM1.6 billion
gas pipeline project stretching from Kimanis in Sabah and Bintulu, Sarawak.


Meanwhile, Khanta said the Indian Government offered a number of
scholarships to enable students from the sub-continent to further their studies
in Malaysia, as well as to Malaysians to study in India's higher learning
institutions.

He hoped that more Malaysian Indians, particularly those residing in
Sarawak, would apply for scholarship where information on educational aid could
be obtained from the India High Commission's website at
www.indiahighcommission.gov.my.

Meanwhile, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin
said the growing number of Indian companies involved in major projects in
Malaysia reflected the acceptance to India's technological advancement.

Chin supported Khanta's call for more Malaysians to pursue education in
India, particularly in the field of information technology.

-- BERNAMA