BANGALORE (May 29): The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) has taken its "Showcase Malaysia" trade show to Bangalore, one of India's fastest growing cities and the country's own Silicon Valley.

As the capital of Karnataka, Bangalore is a major economic hub and the fastest growing major metropolis in India.

This is the fourth edition of Malaysia's solo exhibition in India. The last three editions of "Showcase Malaysia" were held in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai in 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The three-day exhibition kicked off on Thursday at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) and is opened to the trade/business community and the public until May 31.

Pre-scheduled business meetings are also being organised for Indian companies to meet up with their Malaysian counterparts.

This year, Matrade is also featuring pocket talks which are open to all visitors on topics such as beauty, perfumes and biotechnology.

India has been one of Malaysia's largest trading partners in the South Asia region since 1998.

For the first quarter of 2014, total trade between Malaysia and India was more than US$3 billion with imports from India at about US$1 billion.

Of the US$13.4 billion trade with India in 2013, Malaysia exported goods valued at US$8.2 billion and imported goods worth US$5.2 billion, with US$2.9 billion balance of trade in its favour.