Modi & Ibrahim turn a new leaf in India-Malaysia relations, move past the friction over Kashmir – Firstpost

The India-Malaysia relationship had soured in 2019 over the decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and convert it into a union territory
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Years after the ties turned sour over Kashmir in 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim are turning a new leaf in bilateral relations.

Ibrahim is on his first visit to India since becoming the Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2022. The visit comes at a time when India and Malaysia are looking to reset their bilateral ties that were hit by the 2019 move of scrapping the special status of Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir, which was also converted into a Union Territory from a full-fledged state.

Following their meeting, Modi on Tuesday said that India Malaysia will boost cooperation in areas such as semiconductor, financial technology, and defence production. The two leaders decided to upgrade their bilateral ties to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The announcement at a joint press conference in Delhi’s Hyderabad House assumes significance as Anwar has recently sought to move closer to China, which has been engaged with India in an adversarial border dispute. A key part of Modi’s foreign policy has been to deepen trade and ties with other Asian countries to push back against growing Chinese influence in the region.

Addressing the press meet with PM @anwaribrahim of Malaysia. https://t.co/7pr6RRm908

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 20, 2024

The bilateral relations soured in late 2019 following some remarks by Malaysia’s then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who criticised New Delhi’s move to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Now, the two countries seek to expand economic ties and strengthen cooperation on defence and security, the leaders of the two countries said on Tuesday.

“We have decided that we will elevate our cooperation to the level of ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’,” Modi said. He, however, did not specify what that would imply. But he mentioned that Malaysia had invested $5 billion in India in the past year.

Modi and Ibrahim signed a slew of new agreements, including digital technologies, tourism and traditional medicine. Anwar said the two countries have enjoyed good relations for years, adding that the leaders “realised this must be strengthened in a multitude of areas” including construction, agriculture and military collaborations to safeguard both nations’ borders.

Modi said the two had discussed cooperation in the defence sector, and that trade and investment between the two countries should grow while they collaborate on new industries like the production of semiconductors. He also stressed how the partnership between the two countries had grown, taking on “new momentum and energy” over the years.

“In areas which require new and modern technology like semiconductor, fintech, defence industry, AI and quantum technology, we will increase cooperation.”

Malaysia is India’s 16th largest trading partner, while India is among the top 10 largest trading partners for Malaysia. Bilateral trade between the two countries is strong at $20 billion. There are around 70 Malaysian companies operating in India and more than 150 Indian ones in Malaysia, where Indians comprise about 7% of the country’s population.

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