Nine MoUs signed, taking India-Malaysia ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership
Nine MoUs signed as India and Malaysia elevate relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Image Source: IANS
New Delhi, Aug 20: Taking India-Malaysia ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi on Tuesday, resulting in the signing of nine MoUs, ranging from digital technology, tourism, recruitment, employment and repatriation of workers to cooperation in the field of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.
India also approved a ‘special allocation’ of 200,000 metric tonnes of white rice to Malaysia, 100 additional ITEC slots for Malaysian nationals, establishment of Ayurveda Chair at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) in Malaysia and Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies at University of Malaya in Malaysia, besides collaboration between startup ecosystems in the two countries under the India-Malaysia Startup Alliance.
Malaysia is a key pillar of India’s ‘Act East’ policy and a valued partner in the Southeast Asian region. The two countries share strong historical and socio-cultural ties and the bilateral relationship was elevated to Advanced Strategic Partnership status during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Malaysia in November 2015.
“India and Malaysia are completing a decade of Advanced Strategic Partnership. And in the last two years, with the support of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, our partnership has gained new momentum and energy. Today, we extensively discussed all areas of mutual cooperation,” PM Modi said after holding talks with the Malaysian Prime Minister at Hyderabad House.
The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues, including cooperation in ASEAN and the Global South.
Earlier, Ibrahim, who arrived in New Delhi late Monday evening on his first three-day visit to India since assuming office in November 2022, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan and also visited Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
During his visit, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will attend a roundtable meeting with several Indian industry leaders to further economic cooperation between the two countries and will also deliver a lecture titled ‘Towards an Emerging Global South: Leveraging Malaysia-India Relations’ at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on Tuesday evening.
A statement issued by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry ahead of Ibrahim’s arrival in India said, “Malaysia and India’s total trade in 2023 reached RM 76.62 billion (USD 16.53 billion), with Malaysia enjoying a surplus of RM 15.89 billion (USD 3.43 billion). India was Malaysia’s largest importer of palm oil and palm oil-based products, importing RM 11.31 billion (USD 2.44 billion). Malaysia’s major imports from India include petroleum products (RM 6.62 billion or USD 1.44 billion) and agricultural products including halal meat (RM 5.79 billion or USD 1.27 billion).” Malaysia was also India’s third-largest trading partner among ASEAN member countries and the largest trading partner among the eight South Asian countries in 2023.
The Malaysian Prime Minister is accompanied by Foreign Minister Utama Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hassan, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, Tourism Minister Sri Tiong King Sing, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo and Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.
Malaysia is also seeking India’s support to join the BRICS alliance, an inter-governmental organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which adds four new members – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates – on January 1, 2024.
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