Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be travelling to India next week and will hold talks with his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi. He will be in the Indian national capital around August 20 and this will be his first visit to India since taking charge as Malaysian PM in 2022.

The last Malaysian PM to visit India was Najib Razak in 2018. PM Modi had also visited the country in the same year.

Several pillars cement the ties between India and Malaysia, including defence cooperation alongside growing economic ties.

Earlier this month, the Indian Air Force participated in Exercise Udara Shakti in Malaysia. The joint air exercise was conducted in collaboration with the Royal Malaysian Air Force in Kuantan, Malaysia. The IAF participated with Su-30MKI fighter jets and engaged in air combat missions alongside the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)’s Su-30MKM fighters.

The country also hosts a large number of members of Indian origin.

Malaysia is home to over 2.95 million large Indian diaspora, which is the second largest Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) community in the world after the United States, according to the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

In terms of economic ties, Malaysia is the 13th largest trading partner for India while New Delhi figures among the ten largest trading partners for Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia is India’s third largest trading partner in ASEAN. Ties between India and Malaysia have seen a major turnaround after falling during the premiership of Mahathir Mohamad who was critical of New Delhi.

The visit of the Malaysian PM to India is part of increasing high-level engagement between New Delhi and Southeast Asia.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar was in Laos a few weeks ago for an ASEAN foreign minister meeting, followed by a visit by Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The next few weeks could see PM Modi visiting Thailand and other South East countries in the region. More incoming visits from the region are also scheduled in which New Delhi will play the host.

(With Inputs From International Agencies)