The proposed meeting had been initiated by India, and was supposed to take place this week, in Davos, Switzerland, where the World Economic Forum meeting is being held on Jan 21-24.
The trade ministry said it had been in communication with the Indian Ministry of Railways and Commerce & Industry for the possible meeting.
“At no point has either country refused to meet with the other. In the spirit of economic partnership between our two nations, Malaysia has tried to accommodate the official request by India, but due to the busy schedule of both ministers, a mutually agreeable time has not been reached at the time of this statement,” it said., according to Bernama
Earlier this month, India restricted imports of refined Malaysian palm oil in retaliation to critical remarks by prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad about an Indian citizenship law and India’s actions in the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Malaysia is the main supplier to India of refined palm oil and palm olein.
In 2018, India was the 10th largest trading partner for Malaysia and India was Malaysia’s largest trading partner, export destination and import source among the South Asian countries.
India is also one of Malaysia’s major sources of foreign investments, which amounted to RM9.30 billion in December.