Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and Malaysia

On October 21, 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Memorandum of Understanding signed between The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Malaysian Institute of certified public Accountants. The agreement enables the  qualified Chartered Accountants of the countries to join other institutes based on their qualification.

Highlights

Based on the agreement, the countries will exchange information on material changes, continuing Professional Development policy and other relevant matter.

ICAI

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is a statutory body that was established under the Chartered accountants act, 1949. It regulates the profession of Chartered Accountants in India.

India -Malaysia

India and Malaysia are full members of G15, Commonwealth of nations and Asian union. The bilateral trade between the country stands at 10.5 million USD.

Irritants

In 2020, the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticised India on revocation of Kashmir special status and passing the Citizenship Amendment Act. These comments were made during his address at the United Nations general assembly. On reacting to these comments India imposed restrictions on Malaysian palm oil imports.

Malaysia is the world second biggest producer and exporter of palm oil full. Indonesia is the first largest producer and exporter of oil. On the other hand, India is the largest buyer of edible oil from Malaysia. Imposition of restrictions on palm oil imports affected the Malaysian exports greatly.

Malaysian palm oil

The export of palm oil is very crucial for the Malaysian economy. This is because it accounts to 2.8% of GDP of Malaysia which top also from Oil exports contribute to 4.5 % of total exports of Malaysia.

India simultaneously tried to replace Indonesia in palm oil trade. This was done by lowering the duty on refined palm oil from Indonesia.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2020