PM Modi's Malaysia visit to focus on defence, strategic partnership

PM Narendra Modi will visit Malaysia on Feb 7-8 for talks with PM Anwar Ibrahim. It's his first visit since ties were upgraded to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'. Defence collaboration, including aircraft sales, will be a key focus.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Malaysia from February 7-8 and hold bilateral talks with his counterpart Anwar Ibrahim. The upcoming visit marks the third visit of PM Modi to Malaysia and the first since bilateral relations were elevated to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" in August 2024, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

India is looking at opportunities for collaboration across the defence sector during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Modi to Malaysia, with the sale of Dornier aircraft, maintenance of Scorpene submarines and SU-30 aircraft, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

Background of India-Malaysia Relations

During his visit, PM Modi will also interact with the members of the Indian diaspora in Malaysia and other business representatives. Malaysia has a 2.9 million-strong Indian diaspora, the third-largest in the world, and the second-largest PIO community (2.75 million).

Malaysia is an important partner for India in the ASEAN and in the Indo-Pacific region and a key pillar in India's Act East Policy.

The Torana Gate, situated at Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur is a gift from India to Malaysia as a mark of continued friendship between the two countries. The Torana Gate was inaugurated jointly by Narendra Modi, PM of India and Najib Razak, the then PM of Malaysia on November 23, 2015.

India-Malaysia diplomatic ties were elevated to the status of 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' during the visit of Anwar Ibrahim to India from 19-21 August 2024. The bilateral relationship was earlier elevated to 'Enhanced Strategic Partnership' in 2015 when PM Narendra Modi visited Malaysia. Diplomatic relations between the countries were established in 1957.

PM Modi had also met Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the margins of BRICS Summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on July 6, 2025. PM Modi also participated virtually in the 22nd ASEAN-India Summit convened in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025. The two Prime Ministers also interacted over a telephone call on October 22, 2025.

Prime Minister Modi last visited Malaysia on an Official Visit from November 21-23, 2015 and again made a brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur on May 31, 2018. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visited India on a State Visit from August 19-21 2024. He was accompanied by five Cabinet Ministers.

Recent High-Level Engagements and Defence Cooperation

There have been sustained and regular political exchanges at the highest level between India and Malaysia since 2022.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from October 26-28, 2025, to represent India on behalf of the Prime Minister, for the 20th East Asia Summit. EAM had also paid an official visit to Malaysia on March 27-28, 2024.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh visited Malaysia for the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) from 20 October 2025- 01 November 2025. RM had earlier paid an official visit to Malaysia from July 10 -11, 2023.

An Indian delegation led by Minister of State, Sanjay Seth visited Malaysia in May 2025 to participate in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA), and for bilateral discussions.

India-Malaysia defence relations have steadily grown over the years and range from capacity building exercises and military training to defence industrial cooperation.

The first Regional Office of HAL was opened in Kuala Lumpur in 2023 during the visit of Raksha Mantri.

During Malaysia's Chair of ASEAN (2025), several Ministerial visits have taken place. Some of these include: (a) Visit of Minister of Toursim and Culture, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, to Johor, Malaysia on 20 January 2025 for the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting, (b) Visit of MoS(PM) to Malaysia from 18-19 April 2025 to inaugurate the India-ASEAN Tourism Pavillion at the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair in Kuala Lumpur and again in July 2025 for the ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting (c) Visit of MoS ( Commerce & IT), Jitin Prasada to Malaysia for the 22nd AEM-India meeting, among others.

Economic and Commercial Partnership

Economic and commercial engagement is one of the important pillars of India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Bilateral trade between both countries has reached 19.85 billion USD in FY 2024-25.

Malaysia is our 3rd largest trading partner in ASEAN whereas India is among the top 10 trading partners for Malaysia.

Trade between India and Malaysia can be settled in Indian Rupee (INR) in addition to the current modes of settlement in other currencies beginning 1st April 2023.

Cultural Ties and People-to-People Exchange

With a view to further facilitate people-to-people exchanges, both countries liberalized visa regimes for tourists (India is the fifth largest source of inbound tourism for Malaysia). Malaysia has permitted visa free travel for Indian nationals since December 2023, whereas India has allowed gratis tourist visas for Malaysian nationals since July 2024 (currently valid until December 2026).

Nearly 1.4 million Indian tourists visited Malaysia in 2025, whereas nearly 300,000 Malaysian tourists (the largest from among ASEAN countries) visited India.

An Ayurveda Chair has been instituted at the University Tunku Abdur Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia, following the announcement made by Prime Minister during the State Visit of Prime Minister of Malaysia to India in August 2024. The Chair was operationalised in September 2024.

Similarly, a Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies has been established in University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, following the announcement made by Hon'ble PM in August 2024. The Chair was operationalised in October 2025. (ANI)

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