Anand Sharma leading high-level delegation to Malaysia, Singapore

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma is scheduled to leave tonight for Malaysia and Singapore for bilateral meetings. He will be in Malaysia from 6 to 8 July and in Singapore on 8 and 9 July 2010.

He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising industry leaders and government officials.

While in Malaysia, the minister is scheduled to meet the minister of international trade and industry Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, minister of transport Datuk Sri Kong Cho and minister of foreign affairs Dato' Sri Anifah Aman. He will also call on the prime minister of Malaysia. Sharma will also address a business conference being organised by Malaysia-India Business Council.

India-Malaysia bilateral trade stood at $10.60 billion in 2008-09 compared with $2.94 billion in 2003-04. India mainly exports to Malaysia copper, aluminium and zinc, meat products, chemicals and petroleum products while it imports crude petroleum, chemicals, palm oil and electronic products from Malaysia.

In Singapore, Sharma will have a bilateral meeting with Lim Hng Kiang, minister for trade and industry, on 8 July. He is also scheduled to meet the foreign minister George Yeo. On 9 July, Sharma will address a session on `India-Singapore: Enhancing Trade and Economic Cooperation' and give a public lecture on `Resurgence of Asia in 21st Century - an Indian Perspective'.

India's exports to Singapore amounted to $8.45 billion in 2008-09 while India's imports from Singapore stood at $7.65 billion. The major items of India's exports to Singapore are transport equipment and gems and jewellery. Major items of India's imports from Singapore are electronic goods and organic chemicals.

The main sectors of Singapore's FDI in India are services, petroleum and natural gas, computer software and hardware, construction and telecommunication equipment.