Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Malaysia on Thursday during the second leg of his three-nation tour of south-east Asia. He landed in the capital Kuala Lumpur and called on the newly-elected Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya, about 30 km from Kuala Lumpur.
Glad to have met Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I thank him for the warm welcome. We had productive discussions on further cementing India-Malaysia ties. @chedetofficial pic.twitter.com/o8n7aMMS7e
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 31, 2018
On May 10, Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan party (Alliance of Hope) defeated the Barisan Nasional coalition that been in power for 61 years, ever since Malaysia gained independence from Britain.
Mahathir’s party won 122 of the 222 seats in the Malaysian Parliament, a majority which allowed him to form the government. This is Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to Malaysia since 2015.
India and Malaysia have deep historical and cultural relations, dating back to ancient times. Malaysia is home to many Indians, who form at least 7 percent of Malaysia’s population.
Prime Minister Mohamad, who is the incumbent and longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, has Indian ancestry.
On the trade front, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries currently stands at $10.5 billion in 2017 and is poised to reach $25 billion by 2020.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Modi will proceed for Singapore, where he will visit the India-Singapore Enterprise and Innovation Exhibitions at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.
Later, Prime Minister Modi will have a business round-table conference with CEOs for dinner.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the three ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – are India’s strategic partners. Modi is currently on a three-nation tour to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
“The Government of India attaches high importance to its relations with the ASEAN region and is committed to deepening its relationship with individual ASEAN member states, within the framework of Government’s Act East Policy. The visit would enable the Leaders to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the MEA said in a statement.