Malaysia govt works to resolve spat with India
Malaysia is working to resolve a spat with India over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s stance on Kashmir, and hoping that a 16-nation trade pact, which includes India, will be signed this year despite the strained ties, its trade minister said.
Ties suffered a downturn after Mahathir told the UN General Assembly late last month that India had “invaded and occupied” Kashmir, a disputed Muslim-majority region also claimed by Pakistan.
India revoked the autonomous status of its Jammu and Kashmir state on August 5, and has rejected foreign criticism, largely from Muslim majority countries and China, insisting it is an internal affair.
Indian traders have called for a boycott of Malaysian palm oil - which Mahathir has said amounts to a trade war - and there were concerns in New Delhi that negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) could be affected too.
The spat between the world’s second biggest producer and exporter of palm oil, and its current biggest customer could most likely benefit Indonesia, the biggest producer and exporter.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Malaysia’s minister of international trade and industry, Darell Leiking, said RCEP talks were on track and a final deal should include all the intended participants: the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and six Asia-Pacific countries - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
A RCEP summit will be held in Bangkok on November 4.
Leiking said “anything can happen” before the summit, but all 16 countries were moving toward finalising the free trade agreement.
“We hope that RCEP negotiations can be concluded by year-end so that Malaysian companies could reap the opportunities from this mega FTA in opening up more market access for our products and services,” he said.
Comments