By IANS
New Delhi : India and Malaysia will begin discussions by January 2008 on a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement to increase bilateral trade and investments between the countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here Monday.
“I am confident that this agreement would take our bilateral relations to newer heights and contribute to the growth of (both) economies,” the minister said while addressing a Malaysian business delegation.
Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz, who is on a weeklong visit to India, led the 40-member delegation.
During her visit, Aziz will meet government officials and industry leaders in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.
The two countries, which aim to ink a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA), have set a target of increasing the bilateral trade to $16 billion by 2012 from the current $6.6 billion.
Under the CECA, the two countries aim to cooperate in a range of sectors including education, pharmaceuticals, IT, biotechnology, healthcare and tourism.