Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Malaysia on February 7-8 at the invitation of his counterpart Anwar Ibrahim. The trip focuses on strengthening trade, investment, defence, security, and maritime ties. Both nations aim to plan future meetings and expand business links after upgrading to a comprehensive strategic partnership in August 2024 during Anwar’s New Delhi visit.
Modi plans bilateral meetings, talks with business leaders and industry figures, plus a meet-up with the Indian community there. The external affairs ministry shared these details. The 10th India-Malaysia CEOs Forum will happen alongside the visit. Malaysia ranks as India’s third biggest trade partner in Asean, with two-way trade hitting $20 billion in 2023-24. Malaysia has pumped $3.3 billion into India through direct and third-party investments. Its construction firms have their biggest overseas operations in India. A 2.9-million strong Indian diaspora in Malaysia, the third largest globally, binds the countries closer.
In Anwar’s 2024 India trip, they inked a key deal on hiring and work rules for Indian workers, protecting rights of 185,000 Indians in Malaysia. They also agreed to link India’s UPI with Malaysia’s PayNet for easier digital payments.
Defence links have expanded from joint military training to equipment sales. India’s HAL, a government defence aviation firm, launched its first regional office in Kuala Lumpur back in 2023.
Leaders will check progress in trade, investment, defence, security, maritime issues, digital and financial tech, energy, healthcare, education, tourism, and people connections. The visit sets the course ahead. Anwar’s New Delhi stop in August 2024 lifted ties from tensions seen under his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad.