India and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen their cooperation in areas such as semiconductors, financial technology, and defense production, according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his meeting with his Malaysian counterpart. The two nations are looking to reset and enhance their bilateral ties.
Relations between India and Malaysia had deteriorated in late 2019 after remarks made by Malaysia’s then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticizing New Delhi’s decision to revoke the autonomy of the Muslim-majority region of Indian-administered Kashmir. This tension also affected India’s imports of Malaysian palm oil.
“We have decided to elevate our cooperation to the level of a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,’” Modi announced, without detailing the specific implications of this upgrade but highlighting that Malaysia had invested $5 billion in India over the past year.
Modi also stated that India and Malaysia would increase collaboration in cutting-edge technology sectors such as semiconductors, fintech, the defense industry, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology.
Additionally, Modi noted that the two countries have been conducting bilateral trade in their respective currencies, the rupee and the ringgit. India has been working to increase the international acceptability of the rupee, particularly as sanctions on countries like Russia have exposed its heavy reliance on the dollar.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim affirmed his country’s commitment to revitalizing relations with India across various fields.
“There are so many areas that we need to explore further,” Ibrahim said.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
