Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reached New Delhi on Monday evening for the three-day official visit to India, following an invitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit assumes significance as both nations wish to strengthen their bilateral relationship, which, in 2015, was upgraded into an enhanced strategic partnership.
This will be the first visit to India by PM Ibrahim since taking charge of his office in November 2022.
On Tuesday, PM Ibrahim will be given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He will then visit Raj Ghat to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi before a bilateral meet with PM Modi at Hyderabad House.
Thereafter, following the signing of MoUs and press briefings, PM Modi will host a luncheon in his honor. Later, PM Ibrahim will call on President Droupadi Murmu.
During this visit, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will also call on the Malaysian Prime Minister for discussions.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, "India and Malaysia have deep historical and socio-cultural relations. In 2015, our bilateral relationship was upgraded to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Modi's visit. With both countries entering the second decade of this partnership next year, the visit of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is expected to take India-Malaysia relations to new heights by laying down a future agenda for multi-sectoral cooperation."
It will be accompanied by the Malaysian delegation, which will include, among others, Foreign Minister Utama Haji Mohamad bin Haji Hasan, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, Tourism Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, and Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.
During his visit, PM Ibrahim will also interact with Indian business leaders in a roundtable format on economic cooperation and is also scheduled to deliver a lecture titled 'Towards a Rising Global South: Leveraging Malaysia-India Ties' at the ICWA.
According to the Malaysian Foreign Ministry, bilateral trade between Malaysia and India amounted to RM 76.62 billion in 2023. Out of this amount, Malaysia enjoyed a surplus of RM 15.89 billion. India had also been Malaysia's largest importer of palm oil and related products. The major imports from India to Malaysia consisted of petroleum products (RM 6.62 billion or USD 1.44 billion) and agriculture produce, including halal meat (RM 5.79 billion or USD 1.27 billion).
Malaysia was India's third-biggest trading partner among ASEAN nations and the leading partner among South Asian countries in 2023. As part of this visit, PM Ibrahim may also seek India's support for Malaysia's bid to join the BRICS group—an organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which has recently expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
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