India-Malaysia Bilateral Meeting: PM Modi and Ibrahim Meet

Bilateral Meeting and Diplomatic Relations

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held bilateral talks in New Delhi on August 20, 2024.
• This was Ibrahim's first visit to India as Malaysian Prime Minister since taking office in 2022.
• The relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, building on the Enhanced Strategic Partnership established in 2015.
• Both leaders discussed various areas of cooperation, including political, defense, security, economic, trade, and cultural relations.
• Eight Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in areas such as labor recruitment, digital technology, and defense.
• Both Prime Ministers agreed to hold regular exchanges and dialogues on bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

Economic Collaboration and Trade

• Bilateral trade reached a record high of US$19.5 billion.
• Leaders encouraged industry to further enhance bilateral trade sustainably for mutual benefit.
• Both countries agreed to support and expedite the review process of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA).
• Discussions on convening the 2nd Joint Committee Meeting of Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA) were welcomed.
• Collaboration between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank Negara Malaysia to promote local currency settlement in bilateral trade and investments was appreciated.
• Industries were encouraged to facilitate invoicing and settlement of trade in local currencies (Indian Rupee and Malaysian Ringgit).

Digital Cooperation and Technology

• An MoU on Digital Technologies was signed.
• Plans to establish a Malaysia-India Digital Council to guide engagement in the digital realm were announced.
• Collaboration in areas such as Digital Public Infrastructure, digital B2B partnership, digital capacity building, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies was emphasized.
• Prime Minister Modi announced plans to integrate India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Malaysia's PayNet system.
• Ongoing discussions between Start-up India and Cradle Fund of Malaysia through an India-Malaysia Start-up Alliance were welcomed.

Education, Culture, and People-to-People Ties

• India announced the allocation of 100 seats for Malaysians under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarship program in advanced fields like cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
• Plans to establish an Ayurveda Chair at Malaysia's University Tumko Abdul Rahman and a Thiruvalluvar Chair at a Malaysian university were announced.
• Both leaders acknowledged the importance of youth in the countries' development and agreed to promote greater exchanges.
• Cultural and tourism cooperation was discussed to strengthen people-to-people relations.

Regional and Global Cooperation

• Both countries reiterated their commitment to ASEAN centrality.
• India expressed support for Malaysia's upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025.
• Malaysia appreciated India's initiative in hosting the Voice of the Global South Summit (VOGSS).
• Both leaders condemned terrorism and agreed to work together to bring perpetrators of terrorism to justice expeditiously.
• They also agreed to address the linkages between terrorism and transnational organized crime.