SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R.NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, WHILE ACCEPTING
CREDENTIALS FROM DATO' CHOO SIEW KIOH, HIGH COMMISSIONER-DESIGNATE
OF MALAYSIA TO INDIA
NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 24,
1999
Excellency,
It gives me great pleasure
to receive the Letter of Credence from His Majesty Tuanku Salahuddin Abdul
Aziz Shah the Yang di-Pertuan Agong XI, appointing you as the High Commissioner
of Malaysia to India. Please convey to His Majesty that I fully reciprocate
the kind sentiments expressed by him and would also like to extend to His
Majesty my warmest regards and best wishes for his personal health and well
being, as well as for the continued prosperity and welfare of the people
of Malaysia. I would also like to warmly welcome you to our country and
hope that your stay will be enjoyable as well as fruitful.
India and Malaysia have
enjoyed traditionally close and friendly relations based on centuries-old
cultural, commercial and other contacts. The peoples of our two countries
have had sustained maritime, trade and cultural exchanges since ancient
times. In recent years, our relations have grown substantially in all areas,
including the economic and commercial sectors, cultural and academic exchanges,
scientific and technical cooperation and human resource development.
The cooperation between
the two countries in the areas of trade and investment is on the upswing.
Malaysia is now India's largest trading partner among the ASEAN countries
with a total annual bilateral trade of over US $ 1.8 billion. The private
sectors of the two countries are providing the necessary dynamism to the
expansion of economic and commercial interaction. It is gratifying to note
that there is substantial two-way investment between our two countries.
While a number of Indian entrepreneurs and investors have invested in Malaysia,
Malaysian investment in India has also been on the increase. Malaysia now
ranks first among the South-East Asian countries and eighth globally in
terms of investment approvals during 1991-1998. I hope that Indian businessmen
would look at the opportunities for further investment in Malaysia in the
area of Information Technology. I am confident that with re-doubling of
efforts by both sides it should be possible to make further strides in the
areas of commercial and economic cooperation.
The positive trend in
our economic interaction is complemented by a progressively better understanding
of each other's legitimate aspirations and concerns. Regular dialogue, and
contacts between our two Governments as well as academic and people-to-people
contacts have strengthened this understanding. High-level exchanges occupy
a significant place in this framework. We have also maintained regular contact
in the UN, NAM, Commonwealth, WTO and other international fora. This interaction
has enabled us to find meaningful common ground on issues of regional and
global importance, as well as understanding of each other's positions on
issues of common interest.
We have found our dialogue
partnership with ASEAN to be an enriching experience. Our relationship with
ASEAN constitutes a vital element of our foreign policy, as we seek to further
strengthen and consolidate our relations with this region in our immediate
neighbourhood. Our membership of the ASEAN Regional Forum has given us an
opportunity for useful interaction with member countries on issues of peace
and security in the region. We value our interaction with Malaysia in the
ASEAN framework.
India continues to be
committed to the path of economic reform and liberalisation. Benefits of
the reform process are visible in the form of better growth rates, higher
investment and trade flows in the post-liberalisation era. Agriculture has
experienced steady growth and India has been increasingly emerging as a
leading exporter of agro-based products. Impressive growth rates have also
been achieved in sectors like information technology, automobile industry,
electronics, industrial and agricultural machinery etc. We accord high priority
to the development of infrastructure which is the key to accelerated growth
in all sectors of the economy. Private and foreign participation is being
encouraged in the infrastructure sector. The participation of Malaysian
companies in this sector is a welcome development.
Excellency, we look forward
to strengthening our stable, long-term cooperative relationship with Malaysia
based on sustained economic partnership and political dialogue, in the spirit
of goodwill and for the mutual benefit of our peoples. We consider that
the active involvement of our two countries in promoting South-South Cooperation
and the Non-aligned Movement will be a constructive and steadying factor
in the rapidly globalising world of today.
Excellency, I am confident
that during your tenure India and Malaysia will continue to work together
to take our bilateral relations forward in a meaningful manner. I take this
opportunity to extend my Government's full cooperation in your efforts to
further strengthen our bilateral relations.
Thank you
|
