Regional security, trade, investment and technology cooperation are expected to be in focus during Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to India on August 19 and 20.
This visit will be a first for Ibrahim as the prime minister; he had earlier visited India in 2019 for five days as the leader of the ruling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) party.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar had visited Malaysia in July last year, which set the ball rolling between the two countries in terms of regular high-level contact after a brief period of lows. He had met Ibrahim as well as foreign minister Zambry Abdul Kadir during the visit. The discussions had focused on deepening the strategic partnership between India and Malaysia, with a particular emphasis on trade, investment and technology cooperation.
There was a diplomatic logjam between the two countries for a brief period, especially in the wake of then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad’s criticism of India’s Kashmir policy and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. India, which was the largest buyer of Malaysian palm oil, had temporarily boycotted this trade in 2020 hurting the country’s economy to an extent.
In recent years, India-Malaysia bilateral trade has witnessed substantial growth but the total trade volume, which hovers around $20 billion, has been somewhat skewed. Malaysia has traditionally enjoyed a surplus due to its significant exports of palm oil, electronics and petroleum products to India.
Additionally, with India’s growing focus on the Indo-Pacific region, Malaysia’s strategic location and its role as a key ASEAN member make it an important partner for regional economic strategy. Defence minister Rajnath Singh visited Kuala Lumpur in July, marking a significant step in bolstering defence cooperation. This visit was seen as part of India’s policy to broaden its defence ties with key Southeast Asian nations, particularly in context of evolving security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region.
One of the notable outcomes of the visit was the agreement to explore joint production of defence equipment under ‘Make in India’. During his meeting with Malaysian defence minister Mohamad Hasan, Singh had also discussed the collaboration in maritime security given the strategic importance of the Malacca Strait and the broader South China Sea region, where both nations have shared concerns regarding freedom of navigation and overflight.
The latest high-level engagement between India and Malaysia may open up new areas of collaboration, especially in digital economy, renewable energy and infrastructure development. Both countries have expressed an interest in enhancing cooperation in sectors like education, healthcare and IT.
The highlight of Ibrahim’s upcoming visit could be to take the bilateral ties forward from the past years, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Malaysia in May 2018. This was followed by Mahathir Mohamad’s visit to India in October 2019.
These visits were crucial in reinforcing India-Malaysia relations, particularly in context of India’s broader strategic and economic engagement with the ASEAN region.
Comments
0 comment