Malaysia and India are hoping to sign their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as soon as possible, Bernama quoted Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar as saying here Monday. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has been negotiating the deal. "We hope to conclude all matters in the fastest time possible," Syed Hamid told reporters after receiving a call from visiting Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony at Wisma Putra. Trade between the two nations increased to some US8 billion last year. "Both parties want the FTA signed as soon as possible," Syed Hamid said, adding that Malaysia also hoped that India would sign a similar FTA with Asean to further enhance ties between the ten Asean member states and India. "So far we have cleared all issues as regards to the FTA between Asean and India. The only outstanding issue, I think, is on palm oil. We hope this too can be concluded in the near future," he added.
