India and Malaysia sign an important pact on recruitment, employment and repatriation of workers
India and Malaysia decided to elevate their ties to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim in New Delhi on Tuesday (August 20, 2024).
 
The two sides also signed a slew of agreements, including a significant one on recruitment, employment and repatriation of workers. Additionally, they inked pacts on boosting cooperation in the area of digital technologies and in tourism in addition to culture, arts, and heritage. 
 
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Ibrahim recognised that the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between India and Malaysia established in 2015 had helped in advancing bilateral ties into a multidimensional one.
 
"Today we discussed all areas of mutual cooperation extensively. We observed that our bilateral trade is making steady progress. Trade between India and Malaysia can now be settled in Indian Rupee (INR) and Malaysian Ringgits (MYR). Last year, an investment worth USD 5 billion from Malaysia to India has been worked on. Today we have decided to elevate our partnership to a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," Prime Minister Modi said in his joint press statement after talks with Prime Minister Ibrahim.
 
"Recognising that the relations between India and Malaysia have evolved and matured across a broad spectrum of areas and that this deepening of engagement has significantly widened and intensified the relations, the Prime Ministers determined that the timing is propitious for relations to be further consolidated into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," said a Joint Statement issued after the talks.
 
The two Prime Ministers held discussions on the entire range of bilateral cooperation including political, defence and security cooperation, economic and trade, digital technologies, start-ups, fintech, energy including renewables, healthcare, higher education, culture, tourism and people-to-people relations.
 
"We should increase mutual cooperation in new technological areas, such as semiconductor, Fintech, defence industry, artificial intelligence and quantum. We have emphasised on stepping up the review of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement," Prime Minister Modi said in his press statement.
 
Major announcements made by the two sides include:
1. Special allocation of 200,000 MT white rice to Malaysia.
2. Malaysia joining the International Big Cat Alliance as a founding member.
3. Establishment of Ayurveda Chair at University Tunku Abdul Rahman.
4. Establishment of Thiruvalluvar Chair of Indian Studies at the Malaya University, Malaysia.
5. Launch of India-Malaysia Startup Alliance.
6. Launch of India-Malaysia Digital Council.
7. Special allocation of 100 seats under India’s Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme for Malaysian nationals.
 
Briefing the media after the talks, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Jaideep Mazumdar said the India-Malaysia relationship had taken an upward swing since Prime Minister Ibrahim assumed office in 2022.
 
"There have been more than 15 bilateral visits at the level of Minister or Deputy Minister and this is reflected in a very wide range of engagements that we have today between India and Malaysia and the course that we have charted for the relationship going forward," he pointed out.