Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held wide-ranging talks with his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur, focusing on boosting defence and security ties and enhancing economic and innovation partnership. A range of agreements and documents were exchanged between the two sides, covering cooperation in disaster management, audiovisual co-production, combating and preventing corruption, semiconductor development, health and medicine, institution of scholarships and an agreement between NPCI International Payments Limited and PAYNET of Malaysia.
Prime Minister Modi said cooperation between India and Malaysia will expand in maritime security, defence and counter-terrorism. He reiterated that India’s position on terrorism remains firm, with no double standards and no compromise.
Mr Modi highlighted that bilateral cooperation between the two sides is also strengthening across energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and the digital economy. He also said India and Malaysia share a special bond as maritime neighbours, supported by strong people-to-people links and the presence of a large Indian diaspora in Malaysia. He said the audiovisual co-production agreement will promote exchanges in film and music, particularly Tamil cinema. He also referred to initiatives aimed at expanding university exchanges, skill development, and start-up engagement. In line with this, India has also announced the establishment of Thiruvalluvar Centre to promote academic research and studies.
Prime Minister Modi also participated in a CEOs’ conference where investment opportunities and avenues for collaboration across various sectors were discussed. Phison Electronics Corporation’s Founder and CEO Pua Khein Seng India’s vision for the semiconductor industry. Earlier, the Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to ASEAN and congratulated Malaysia on its chairmanship of ASEAN. He said both sides agreed to complete the review of the AITIDA( ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement) at the earliest. He added that the Indo-Pacific region is emerging as an engine of growth and that India and Malaysia are working together for development, peace, and stability in the region.
Summarising the official visit of the PM Secretary (East) P. Kumaran said semiconductors remain a key area of cooperation. He said that the Malaysia-India Digital Council has been formed to advance engagement in the semiconductor ecosystem as well as digital public infrastructure, e-governance, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, fintech, and payment linkages.
He said India’s design strengths and Malaysia’s long experience in manufacturing, assembly, testing, and packaging can complement each other. Mr Kumaran also said counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries covers transnational crimes, including human trafficking and violent extremism, and is being addressed through an ongoing national security dialogue mechanism. Prime Minister Modi in his third official visit to Malaysia also Persons of Indian Origin and veterans of the Indian National Army.
