Sarabjit Kaur
National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SME Corporation Malaysia for exchange of information and cooperation in areas like policies to aid development of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the two countries.
Besides, three other agreements were also signed between Indian and Malaysian entities to strengthen cooperation among smaller businesses in these countries.
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) minister Giriraj Singh, who was present at the event, expressed confidence that the two countries will work together in various areas like manufacturing and technology to drive growth in the SME sector.
He said that Malaysia and India are large trading partners and share cordial relations for a long time.
Bilateral trade [between India and Malaysia] was registered at USD 12.02 billion in 2015 as against USD 13.84 billion in 2014 and USD 13.38 billion in 2013, he said.
“As per latest statistics, bilateral trade during January to September 2016 stood at USD 8.71 billion. Trade is significantly biased in favour of Malaysia,” he added.
The agreement between NSIC and SME Corp Malaysia is for cooperation in matters of policies, expertise and information relating to the development of MSMEs in India and Malaysia.
The two entities will also work together for improving competitiveness of Indian and Malaysian MSMEs in global markets and other forms of technical collaboration.
The MoU between Malamega (Malaysia) and Pupathy Enclave will explore the possibilities of sourcing and supplying fossil fuels and development of green renewable energy.
It will also explore joint business ventures for trading coal and other fuels required for power generation sector in India.
The partnership between India’s GA Software Technologies and JS Rezeki Bumi Maju Sdn Bhd will see an initial project targeted at providing computerised automated services for Malaysian immigration office and its related services/agencies via JS Rezeki’s subsidiary.
Besides, another agreement was also signed between Orchid Life (Malaysia) and Vimta Labs (India).
