India seeks G2G with Malaysia on convention centre

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and India will collaborate at the government-to-government (G2G) level to jointly build a new convention centre in New Delhi, India.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had indicated his desire for such an arrangement.

"In order for that to happen, we should appoint a point person from both sides so that the project can be implemented immediately.

"Prime Minister Modi is a man of action. He wants things to be implemented expeditiously and he has a proven track record as chief minister.

"Now as a prime minister, he told me that the construction of roads (in India) had been implemented much faster than before from 2km to 18km per day," he told reporters at a joint press conference with Modi.

Najib said he was excited over possibilities of both nations applying the same strategy for potential projects such as high-speed rail, highway and construction of new infrastructure.

Both premiers today signed a memorandum of understanding for Malaysia and India to further deepen and strengthen cooperation in the areas of performance management, project delivery and monitoring related to government programmes and delivery.

Najib stressed that the two countries also identified new areas of cooperation to be explored that could elevate the relations to a higher level. This included the development of infrastructure, defence cooperation, traditional medicine and the development of management cooperation.

"The Indian government is also inviting Malaysian investors to participate in economic activities following new developmental and business initiatives undertaken by India.

Some of the new initiatives included 'Make in India', 'Digital India', 'Smart Cities' and 'Skills Development' that offered significant opportunities for Malaysian businesses in India.

Modi arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to attend the just-concluded 27th Asean and related summits. It is also his first official visit to Malaysia after assuming his premiership in 2014.

Meanwhile, Modi noted that Malaysia and India enjoyed a comprehensive partnership and both countries shared similarities in many dimensions and diversity.

"Malaysian companies are involved in several rural development projects in India and there are Indian companies which have a strong presence in Malaysia," he said.

Modi is expected to meet chief executive officers of Malaysian companies to explore potential synergies between the private sectors of both countries. - Bernama