PUTRAJAYA, Feb 8 — Malaysia and India will continue to strengthen their cooperation following the upgrading of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in August 2024, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today.

Anwar said India is a key partner for Malaysia, with collaboration growing in trade, investment, education, technology and tourism.

“We consider this meeting (bilateral meeting) and these exchanges (MoUs) as very vital, strategic and critical to advance and enhance relations between India and Malaysia. Of course, we have had a long-standing relationship since 1957, but we elevated it to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2024.

“The deep historical ties, strong people-to-people linkages and ever-expanding economic cooperation will continue to strengthen collaboration in all fields, including trade and investment, semiconductors, the digital economy, local currency trade, connectivity and energy,” he said.

Anwar said this at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the Seri Perdana Complex here today.

Modi is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia.

Earlier, Anwar and Modi witnessed the exchange of several bilateral documents aimed at further strengthening institutional cooperation.

Anwar said the partnership between Malaysia and India is very comprehensive and both countries are committed to implementing their agreements quickly.

“We believe that we can advance this and execute speedily (through) the commitment of both our governments, both foreign ministers.

“And we have seen also the exchange of 11 documents, including memoranda of understanding (MoUs) which extend beyond normal bilateral arrangements because we have committed to peacekeeping cooperation on semiconductor, healthcare and security cooperation,” he added.

On education, Anwar highlighted the significant growth in student exchanges, with many Malaysians studying in India and an increasing number of Indian students choosing Malaysia.

Anwar also described tourism and connectivity as pivotal areas for future cooperation, pointing to a marked increase in travel between the two nations over the past year.

“We have seen a significant increase in travel and connectivity during the past year. We hope to benefit from Malaysia to Asia and India, to increase our globalisation and increase air connectivity,” he said, adding that India is a vast and diverse country with rich history, culture, arts and technology.

India is Malaysia’s largest trading partner in the South Asian region, with total trade between the two countries reaching RM79.49 billion (US$18.59 billion) in 2025.

Malaysia’s exports amounted to RM52.3 billion (US$12.24 billion) and imports totalled RM27.19 billion (US$6.35 billion).

Key export items comprised palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products, as well as electrical and electronic products, while imports mainly consisted of agricultural, petroleum and chemical products. — Bernama