Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and India hold a significant potential for collaboration, especially in the semiconductor sector which offers numerous opportunities for partnership, said Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong.
He said Malaysia wants to be part of India’s semiconductor story as both nations’ ecosystems are highly complementary.
The sector could potentially be an interesting addition and important part of trade relations between the two countries.
“I believe there is great potential for India and Malaysia to collaborate, particularly in the semiconductor sector, where there are many areas for cooperation.
“Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia BN Reddy is working hard to establish a memorandum of cooperation on semiconductors,” he said during the recent India-Asean Strategic Dialogue forum.
Meanwhile, Liew emphasised that Asean needs to understand and comprehend large countries such as India, China, and the United States, and engage not only at the national level but also at the state level.
“For instance, Gujarat has a population of more than 60 million, Uttar Pradesh has 241 million, while Malaysia’s population is 34 million. We are talking about a vastly different scale; the state level in India is huge.
“Thus, Asean needs to engage at all levels and create people-to-people interactions and relationships at both the national and provincial tiers. We must endeavour to understand India’s twenty-eight states and eight union territories,” he added.
He also noted that Asean and India must truly develop a comprehensive relationship that can withstand the urge and the tendency to view the world through a bipolar arrangement.
“The Asean and India relationship will grow, but I think we should specifically emphasise the areas such as building peace, human development, creating a strong middle class and growing technology together,” he said. — Bernama
