NEW DELHI, Aug 21: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia had secured investment commitments amounting to RM4.5 billion from India, while recording potential trade valued at RM8 billion following meetings with leading industrialists during his visit to the country.
BERNAMA reported that seven B2B Memoranda of Understanding were signed during Anwar’s three-day visit to India, his first after becoming Malaysia’s premier.
The prime minister who arrived in India on Monday met Indian Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on Tuesday. This was the first meeting between the two leaders.
Anwar Ibrahim was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and he visited Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, prior to the bilateral trade talks with the Indian premier, a press release issued by the Press Bureau of India (PBI) said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile the wide-ranging discussions between Anwar and Modi covered various areas, to further enhance ties between the two countries. In his Facebook posting, Anwar said “Malaysia and India have taken a major step in their longstanding relationship by elevating their bilateral ties from an Enhanced Strategic Partnership (ESP) to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
“This pivotal move underscores our mutual commitment to deepening collaboration across crucial sectors, including energy transition, digitalization, food security, and the semiconductor industry, where Malaysia plays a leading role in Southeast Asia.in various areas.”
According to PBI, among both leaders held discussions on the entire range of bilateral cooperation including political, defence and security cooperation, economic and trade, digital technologies, start-ups, fintech, energy including renewables, healthcare, higher education, culture, tourism and people-to-people relations.
They also witnessed the exchange of MoUs on cooperation in the fields of Recruitment, Employment and Repatriation of Workers; Ayurveda and other Traditional Systems of Medicines; Digital Technologies; Culture, Arts and Heritage; Tourism; Public Administration and Governance Reforms; Youth and Sports; and Financial Services between Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) and International Financial Services Centres Authority, India (IFSCA).
Bilateral trade between Malaysia and India currently stands at a record high of US$19.5 billion.
In the area of digital cooperation, both leaders welcomed the signing of the MoU on Digital Technologies and encouraged the early convening of Malaysia-India Digital Council to guide engagement in the digital realm and accelerate collaboration in this area such as Digital Public Infrastructure, digital B2B partnership, digital capacity building, cyber security, emerging technologies such as 5G, quantum computing, cloud computing, Internet of Things among others, between the two countries.
The leaders recognized the digital economy priorities of both the countries and acknowledged the success of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and commended the ongoing engagements in the area of payment systems between India and Malaysia.
During their discussions, they also agreed to advance collaboration in the field of science and technology including space, nuclear energy, semiconductors, vaccines and other identified areas.
They also agreed to intensify cooperation in the field of higher education. Malaysia also welcomed the special allocation of 100 seats under India’s Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme for Malaysian nationals in the areas of cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Among others, the two prime ministers emphasised their commitment to continuing the partnership, including in the establishment of the Ayurveda Chair by India’s Institute for Training & Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) under the Ministry of Ayush of India at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia.
Among the many other plans, they also welcomed the discussions for establishment of Tiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies at the Universiti Malaya (UM) and cooperation in the area of climate change.
They also welcomed the continued and valuable contributions of Indian nationals in Malaysia to the Malaysian economy and agreed to further streamline and strengthen the flow of skilled talent between the two countries, the PBI statement said.
–WE
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the recent initiatives to promote greater tourism and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, particularly the relaxation of visa regimes by both the countries. Both Prime Ministers expressed their commitment to enhancing tourism cooperation, sharing best practices in sustainable tourism, and exploring the potential for increased tourism flows between the two countries. India noted the designation of 2026 as Visit Malaysia and Malaysia’s welcome of additional Indian tourists in celebration of the year.
Both leaders agreed that the connectivity between the two countries is key in ensuring greater inflow and outflow of peoples and encouraged the civil aviation authorities of the two countries to continue engaging in discussions to enhance air connectivity between both the countries.
The two Leaders reiterated their commitment to respecting freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded lawful commerce, based on the principles of international law, as reflected notably in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. The two Leaders urged all parties to resolve disputes through peaceful means in accordance with the universally recognised principles of international law including UNCLOS 1982.
Reaffirming the importance of India’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, Malaysia appreciated India’s full support for ASEAN centrality and Malaysia’s upcoming ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025. Malaysia welcomed more engagements between ASEAN and India through ASEAN-led mechanisms towards further consolidating the existing Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Both Prime Ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation and coordination at the UN, including at the UNSC, UNHRC, and other multilateral fora. The two leaders upheld that adherence to a rules-based international system is imperative to ensuring peace and development. They pledged to work together to enhance multilateralism, reflective of contemporary realities so as to make international organisations, including the UN Security Council, more representative. The strengthening of Council membership with a focus on increasing representation from developing countries, including through the expansion of UNSC in both the permanent and non-permanent categories will render it more effective in addressing current global challenges. India deeply appreciated Malaysia’s support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed United Nations Security Council.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim thanked Prime Minister Shri Modi for the warm reception and hospitality extended to him and his delegation for the visit, and invited the Prime Minister of India to undertake a visit to Malaysia in the near future, as mutually convenient.