Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, inked 11 agreements and pledged to deepen their collaboration on semiconductors.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, reaffirmed their countries’ partnership in a bid to bolster bilateral trade and deepen cooperation on defense and semiconductors.

Modi is visiting Malaysia for the first time since the countries upgraded their ties to ‌a comprehensive strategic partnership in August 2024.

“This morning, I had the pleasure of welcoming my friend and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Perdana Putra for the official welcoming ceremony,” Ibrahim said in a post on X.

Modi landed in Malaysia on Saturday for his first visit to the country in more than a decade.

What did Modi and Anwar say?

“People-to-people linkages are at the core of India-Malaysia friendship. The Social Security Agreement, gratis e-visa for tourism and the coming of UPI to Malaysia will bring our people even closer,” he added.

“Along with AI and digital technologies, we will advance our partnership in semiconductors, health, and food security,” Modi said.

The visit resulted in the signing of 11 agreements between the two countries including on renewable energy, semiconductors, disaster management and peacekeeping.

“This meeting and these exchanges are very vital, very strategic and critical to advance and enhance relations between India and Malaysia,” Anwar said at a news conference in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya.

“It’s really comprehensive, and we believe that we can advance this and execute in a speedy manner with the commitment of our both governments,” he added.

Cooperation on semiconductors

Malaysia is among the biggest exporters of semiconductors, ranking sixth worldwide. The sector contributes around 25% of gross domestic product, according to Malaysian government figures.

Ahead of Modi’s arrival in Malaysia, India’s Foreign Ministry in a statement said the Southeast Asian nation had a “very strong semiconductor ecosystem.”

“They have almost 30 to 40 years of experience in those areas,” the ministry added.

“Our companies are… interested in collaborating with Malaysia,” it said, including in research and development and building manufacturing and testing plants.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery

DW News