NEW DELHI (AP) – India and Malaysia will seek to expand economic ties and strengthen cooperation on defence and security, the leaders of the two countries said.
This came during Malaysian Prime Minster Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to India, his first since he took office in 2022, where he met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Both heads of state addressed reporters after signing a slew of new agreements, including digital technologies, tourism and traditional medicine. Anwar said the two countries have enjoyed good relations for years, adding that “we realised this must be strengthened in a multitude of areas”, including construction, agriculture and military collaborations to safeguard both nations’ borders.
Modi said the two had discussed cooperation in the defence sector, and that trade and investment between the two countries should grow while they collaborate on new industries like the production of semiconductors. He also stressed how the partnership between the two countries had grown, taking on “new momentum and energy” over the years.
Earlier, the Malaysian prime minister received a ceremonial welcome at India’s presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan before paying his respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat memorial site in New Delhi.
Bilateral trade between the two countries is strong at USD20 billion. Malaysia is India’s 16th largest trading partner, while India is among the top 10 largest trading partners for Malaysia. There are around 70 Malaysian companies operating in India and more than 150 Indian ones in Malaysia, where Indians comprise about seven per cent of the country’s population.
