Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday embarked on his official two-day visit to Malaysia where he will meet his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim and hold discussions aiming to strengthen the defence, energy, trade, investment, education, cultural and tourism ties between the two sides. His visit is also coinciding with the 10th India-Malaysia CEO Forum.
"We will aim to deepen our defence and security ties, enhance our economic and innovation partnership, and expand our collaboration into new domains," said PM Modi in his departure statement.
The prime minister said he is also eager to interact with the Indian community in Malaysia, as he lauded their role in the Southeast Asian country's development.
"I am also eager to meet the Indian community in Malaysia. Numbering nearly three million, they represent one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world," he said. "Their immense contribution to Malaysia’s progress and their role as a living bridge between our two nations provides a strong foundation to our historic friendship."
What's on agenda?
In a statement released earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said PM Modi will meet Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim. Apart from this, he will interact with the Indian community, and industry and business representatives. The MEA said India and Malaysia have long-standing bonds of friendship that is based on their "historical, civilisational and cultural" connections.
According to the MEA, the 2.9 million Indian diaspora in Malaysia have strengthened the relationship between the two countries, which is already "multi-faceted and growing".
"We have this vision of 'Mahasagar', as well as the larger Indo-Pacific vision of India... The visit would focus on implementing several of the review recommendations, the initiatives launched in 2024 in India, and adding new dimensions to the ongoing cooperation," India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, BN Reddy, told news agency ANI.
"For the first time, India and Malaysia have started a security dialogue... The second was in the digital economy... Malaysia wants to engage with us in this field. We also previously signed an MoU on digital technologies, which led to the establishment of the Malaysia-India Digital Council," he added.
