NEW DELHI, March 6 (Bernama) -- Asia's third largest economy India and Malaysia are working closely to tie up the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) by later this year, which is likely to add fillip to the existing two-way trade relations.

Visiting International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed met his counterpart Anand Sharma in New Delhi to review the progress of the trade pact on Friday during his one-day visit to India.

"India can provide lot of stimulus to Malaysia's growth. We hope to achieve more things in 2010 and possibly conclude CECA by end of August, and the agreement being signed in Malaysia when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits in October," Mustapa told Malaysian corporate leaders at a dinner on Friday night.

"Minister Sharma and I have now agreed a process which should ensure we meet this hard deadline. The breadth of the agreement, covering services and investments as well, reflects the level of our ambition which I have characterised as 'Asean+'," he said.

Ranking India and China as important economic powerhouses in the region, the minister said both nations "could help pull along Malaysia's growth" as huge trade and investment opportunities exist between the three economies.

On India-Malaysia trade relations, Mustapa said the two-way trade and investments flow were on a healthy trajectory, but he wanted to see more Indian companies setting up bases in Malaysia.

"We are encouraged by the level of interest within the corporate sectors in both India and Malaysia, and look forward to greater inward investment flows from India," he said.

"I would like to see existing Indian companies expanding their operations and also new companies coming to Malaysia, especially the SMEs (small and medium scale entrepreneurs)," he added.

Mustapa had also invited Sharma to visit Kuala Lumpur in June this year for a mid-term review of the CECA negotiations and to lead a business delegation to Malaysia.

Last year, India was Malaysia's 12th largest trading partner.

-- BERNAMA