India may cut imports from Malaysia, Turkey

Our government has not taken kindly the comments of Malaysia and Turkey and we will restrict trade from both the countries OFFICIAL

NEW DELHI: India is planning to cut some imports from Turkey and widen curbs on palm oil from Malaysia to oil, gas and other products, government officials said, targeting the countries for their criticism of India’s policy towards Kashmir.

India, the world’s biggest buyer of edible oils, has already effectively stopped importing palm oil from Malaysia by asking Indian importers to look elsewhere.

New Delhi is now planning to restrict buying of petroleum, aluminium ingots, liquefied natural gas, computer parts and microprocessors from Malaysia, the two government officials, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters.

The government is also planning to cut imports of oil and steel products from Turkey, one of the officials said.

“Our government has not taken kindly the comments of Malaysia and Turkey and we will restrict trade from both the countries,” one of the officials said.

The Indian Commerce Ministry did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had recently said that India was “invading and occupying the country” of Jammu and Kashmir and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan had said Kashmiris are “virtually under blockade”.

The Union government had on August 5 last year nullified the Constitution’s Article 370, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and split the state into two Union territories.

Tension between India and Malaysia, the world’s secondbiggest producer and exporter of palm oil after Indonesia, further escalated after 94-year-old Mahathir criticised India’s new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims.

Turkey meanwhile has sided with Pakistan on issues such as its membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, which oversees the export of goods that can be used for nuclear weapons manufacturing.