Warm welcome in Kuala Lumpur as PM Anwar receives PM Modi at airport

New Delhi, Feb 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Malaysia on Saturday for a two-day official visit at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, with a focus on strengthening defence and security cooperation, expanding economic engagement and taking the India–Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into new areas of collaboration.

In a special gesture, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim personally received Prime Minister Modi at the Kuala Lumpur airport, accompanied by Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister Dato’ Sri Ramanan Ramakrishnan and Deputy Foreign Minister Dato’ Lukanisman bin Awang Sauni. The welcome was followed by a colourful cultural programme reflecting the shared heritage of the two countries.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi, in his departure statement, said India and Malaysia share historic ties that have seen steady progress in recent years. He said discussions with his Malaysian counterpart would focus on deepening cooperation in defence and security, enhancing economic engagement and expanding collaboration in emerging domains. The Prime Minister also said he looked forward to interacting with the Indian community in Malaysia, describing the diaspora as a “living bridge” between the two nations.

India and Malaysia enjoy strong historical and socio-cultural linkages, underpinned by Malaysia’s nearly 2.9 million-strong Indian diaspora, the third largest in the world and the second-largest PIO community globally. The deep people-to-people ties are reflected in landmarks such as the Torana Gate at Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, gifted by India and jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi and then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during his 2015 visit. This is Prime Minister Modi’s third visit to Malaysia since 2015 and his first since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s state visit to India in August 2024, when bilateral ties were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The relationship had earlier been upgraded to an Enhanced Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Malaysia in 2015. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1957.

Economic engagement remains a key pillar of the partnership, with bilateral trade reaching USD 19.85 billion in FY 2024–25. Malaysia is India’s third-largest trading partner within ASEAN, while India is among Malaysia’s top ten trading partners. Both sides are also exploring greater use of local currencies for trade settlement and are working under ASEAN frameworks to review existing trade agreements.

Defence cooperation between the two countries has steadily expanded, covering training, capacity building and defence industrial collaboration, including the opening of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s first regional office in Kuala Lumpur in 2023.

People-to-people ties have further strengthened with liberalised visa regimes. Malaysia has permitted visa-free travel for Indian nationals since December 2023, while India has extended gratis tourist visas to Malaysian nationals until December 2026. Nearly 1.4 million Indian tourists visited Malaysia in 2025, while close to 300,000 Malaysians travelled to India.