KUALA LUMPUR: There was no planned meeting between Malaysia and India’s respective trade ministers at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Summit in Davos, Switzerland, later this week.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking confirmed today that he will not meet India’s Trade Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the economic forum.
The possibility of trade minister’s from both nations was broached after India imposed restrictions on refined palm oil imported from Malaysia, its biggest supplier.
The move from India came about after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad spoke out against India’s new citizenship law which critics said was discriminating against Muslims.
“No, we are not arranging any meeting with the minister.
“We might however bump into each other there (at the summit), along with representatives from other countries.
“Our focus would be on meeting and bringing potential investors to Malaysia,” Leiking said, declining to say further on the matter.
He said this after attending the China Special Channel (CSC) memorandum of agreement (MoA) signing ceremony here, today.
The CSC, established under InvestKL Malaysia (InvestKL) would serve as a common contact point between investors from China and Malaysia’s relevant agencies.
Also present to witness the signing were Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and China’s Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian.
The MoA was signed between InvestKL and Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC), China Enterprises Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia, Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM); and Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC).