India, Malaysia agree on early review of ASEAN-India trade agreement

PM Modi and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim agreed to complete the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) at the earliest. They also decided to further strengthen the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday thanked Malaysia for its support in the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA). "With the support of friendly countries like Malaysia, India will further broaden its engagement with ASEAN. We are in agreement that the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) should be completed at the earliest," PM Modi said in his joint press statement here today with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim.

Prime Minister Modi, who is on an official visit to Malaysia from February 7-8, held restricted and delegation-level meetings at Seri Perdana, the official residence of his Malaysian counterpart, today.

Strengthening Economic Pacts

They emphasised the importance of AITIGA and the Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA), as per a joint statement.

Deepening Strategic Partnership

During the talks, both leaders agreed to further strengthen the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in 2024. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including reforms in global governance, developments in the Indo-Pacific and the expanding India-ASEAN partnership.

PM Modi and Anwar "welcomed the ongoing review of AITIGA to make it mutually beneficial, trade facilitative and relevant to current global trading practices," it said. Further, both leaders appreciated MICECA's potential to deepen economic relations and encouraged its optimal utilisation.

Robust Economic Partnership

PM Modi highlighted India's role as a key investment destination for Malaysian companies, while Anwar welcomed the significant presence of Indian manufacturing and technology firms, which have contributed to high-skilled job creation in Malaysia. Addressing a media briefing here P Kumaran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "Our economic partnership is strong and growing. Malaysia is India's third-largest trading partner in ASEAN, with bilateral trade close to about 20 billion US dollars."

"Our trade has diversified and it includes a variety of agricultural products, chemicals, minerals, appliances, and machinery. In emerging areas such as semiconductors and digital technology, our bilateral engagements have intensified," the MEA official said.

Joint Vision for Economic Growth

The joint statement issued stated that Malaysia recognises India as a vital global economic partner and appreciates the growth in bilateral trade. Both PM Modi and Anwar Ibrahim underscored that this partnership is one of mutual value and strategic synergy.

In the spirit of balanced cooperation, both Leaders agreed to enhance trade facilitation and explore opportunities in diverse areas, including semiconductors, the digital economy, and industrial collaboration, according to the joint statement.

Enhancing Connectivity

"The leaders acknowledged that connectivity is a key determinant and enabler for enhanced economic cooperation. In this regard, they appreciated the growing air and maritime connectivity between the countries and agreed to strengthen it further," the joint statement read.

Boosting Bilateral Investments

The two Prime Ministers welcomed the growing bilateral investments and encouraged greater cooperation and investments across priority sectors, including in Infrastructure, Energy, including Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing, Semiconductors, Healthcare, Digital economy, Fintech, Startups, Artificial Intelligence, Hospitality, Green Technologies and other high-value sectors.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted India's role as a key investment destination for Malaysian companies, while Prime Minister Ibrahim welcomed the significant presence of Indian manufacturing and technology firms, which have contributed to high-skilled job creation in Malaysia.

India-Malaysia CEO Forum

The two Prime Ministers welcomed the convening of the 10th meeting of the India-Malaysia CEO Forum, in Kuala Lumpur on February 7. The leaders also noted the outcome document of the CEOs Forum and expressed hope that the Forum would continue to complement efforts to further strengthen trade and investment relations between the two countries.

Promoting Local Currency Settlement

Both Prime Ministers appreciated the continued collaboration between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank Negara Malaysia to promote the usage of local currency settlement in bilateral trade and investments and encouraged industries on both sides to further facilitate the invoicing and settlement of trade in local currencies, i.e., Indian Rupee and Malaysian Ringgit.

Future Trade Projections

Malaysian PM Anwar said that Malaysia-India bilateral trade is expected to extend beyond the USD $18.59 billion achieved last year. "India is growing by leaps and bounds, which is one spectacular rise in the international economic trade scene, and therefore Malaysia in the ASEAN context certainly benefits immensely if we could secure more ways and opportunities to collaborate with India to extend beyond the $18.59 billion that we achieved in 2025," Anwar said. (ANI)

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