Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim to visit India next week; multiple agreements expected

New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will visit India from August 19 to 20 during which both sides are expected to sign several pacts including one on recruitment of Indian workers, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Ibrahim, to be accompanied by a high-level delegation, will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The overall aim of the visit would be to further ramp up bilateral ties including areas of trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges, the people cited above said.

It will be the first visit by a Malaysian prime minister to India since 2018.

The decision to sign an agreement on recruitment of Indian workers assumes significance as illegal immigration and human trafficking from India to Malaysia are among major concerns of the two governments.

There are around 1,85,000 non-resident Indians in Malaysia, according to official data.

The overall ties between the two countries have been on an upswing in the last few years.

India's defence relations with Malaysia have gained momentum in recent years. The MoU on defence cooperation, signed in 1993, is the cornerstone of defence relations between the two countries.

In July last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Kuala Lumpur during which both sides approved an amendment in the memorandum of understanding on India-Malaysia defence cooperation signed in 1993.

The defence ministry had said that the amendment will act as an "enabler" to expand bilateral defence cooperation in the areas of mutual interest.

The trade ties between the two countries are also on an upward trajectory.

Malaysia is India's 13th largest trade partner and India is among Malaysia's 10 biggest trade partners.

The two-way trade volume was around USD 20 billion in 2022-23.

Both sides are set to ink several pacts during Prime Minister Ibrahim's visit to New Delhi, one of the people cited above said.

India and Malaysia are in the process of firming up a framework for conducting trade in national currencies as well.

The two sides are also initiating a process to review the 12-year-old comprehensive economic cooperation agreement to include new domains and items. PTI