The MoU will further enhance participation by Malaysian engineering and consultancy companies in the development of national highways in India. The presence of the Malaysian Prime Minister at the official signing ceremony underscores the potential for collaboration between India and Malaysia in the economic and commercial field, particularly in the infrastructure sector.

The signing ceremony was preceded by calls by Minister Kamal Nath on the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib and the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin Bin Mohd Yassin. Both the Malaysian leaders warmly recalled the visit of Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh to Malaysia in October 2010 and spoke about the strong potential for bilateral cooperation, including in the economic sphere.

The MoU will strengthen, promote and develop cooperation with Malaysia in relation to the provision of technical assistance services on highway management and development. Such services include technical assistance in upgrading Design Project Report (DPR) procedures, developing procedures for peer review of tunnel design, toll optimisation studies and establishing information management procedures for the setting up of an Asset Management System for highways and expressways. The technical assistance will be of considerable benefit to India in view of Malaysia’s long experience in implementing road and highway projects.

The MoU also envisages foreign direct investment from Malaysia / Malaysian companies for Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) / Expressway projects, subject to the approval of the regulatory authorities of both countries. Such projects, subject to mutual agreement, will be implemented through bilateral negotiations on the basis of a mutually agreed price discovery mechanism and appraisal by Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC)/ Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure as applicable, to all projects executed under the PPP mode in India.

Minister Kamal Nath and Dato’ Shaziman had fruitful discussions on how to strengthen existing bilateral collaboration in infrastructure development, including the involvement of Malaysian companies in infrastructure projects particularly in the highway sector.

This is the first high ranking visit from India since the official visit of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India in October 2010, during which the Governments of India and Malaysia agreed to establish a Strategic Partnership and to deepen bilateral relations through all round cooperation and engagement.

Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Road Transport & Highways of India, is on an official visit to Malaysia from 20 to 22 December 2010, at the invitation of Dato’ Shaziman bin Abu Mansor, Minister of Works of Malaysia.