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India–Malaysia Reaffirm Strategic Partnership

  • 09 Feb 2026

India and Malaysia reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Malaysia from 7 to 8 February 2026, undertaken at the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Key Points

  • High-Level Bilateral Engagement: Prime Minister Modi received an official welcome at the Perdana Putra Complex in Putrajaya, and both leaders held extensive talks covering political, economic, defence and regional cooperation.
  • MoUs and Bilateral Documents: India and Malaysia signed 11 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and exchanged several bilateral documents across a broad range of sectors.
  • Wide-Ranging Cooperation Agenda: Discussions focused on trade and investment, digital economy, energy, semiconductors, agriculture, healthcare, education, culture, tourism and global issues.
  • Strengthening Trade and Investment: Both sides acknowledged steady growth in bilateral trade and agreed to expand cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, fintech, renewable energy, healthcare and advanced manufacturing.
  • Support for Trade Frameworks: The leaders emphasised the importance of the Malaysia–India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and welcomed the review of the ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement.
  • Local Currency Trade Promotion: The two countries encouraged the growing use of local currency settlement, including the Indian rupee and Malaysian ringgit, to improve economic resilience.
  • Digital and Semiconductor Collaboration: The formalisation of the Malaysia–India Digital Council was welcomed to strengthen cooperation in digital public infrastructure, fintech, cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
  • Cross-Border Payments Linkages: Collaboration between NPCI International and PayNet Malaysia was noted to enable cross-border digital payment integration.
  • Defence and Security Cooperation: India and Malaysia reaffirmed defence ties through training, joint exercises and maritime security cooperation, including the conduct of the fifth edition of Exercise Harimau Shakti.