Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim to arrive in Delhi on three-day visit

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim will arrive in India on Monday for a three-day state visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This will be Ibrahim’s maiden visit to New Delhi as Prime Minister since taking office in 2022, the ministry of external affairs said.

Ibrahim becomes the second Malaysian Prime Minister to visit India at the invitation of Modi after Najib Razak visited New Delhi in 2018.

Ibrahim’s India visit is crucial, particularly as the Southeast Asian nation is vying to join the multipolar BRICS grouping ahead of taking over chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean) grouping next year.

Kuala Lumpur is banking on Delhi’s support as it looks forward to joining BRICS, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and, as of 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

On Tuesday, Ibrahim will receive a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

He will then visit Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, following which he is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Modi, who will also host a luncheon in his honor.

India and Malaysia share a solid historical and socio-cultural bond, and the bilateral relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership in 2015 during Modi’s visit to Malaysia.

Ibrahim is scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu later on Tuesday.

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar will also call on Ibrahim during the visit.

Both countries will enter the second decade of enhanced strategic partnership next year, and Ibrahim’s visit will further strengthen India-Malaysia bilateral ties by establishing a multi-sectoral cooperation agenda for the future, the ministry of external affairs said.

Malaysia is India’s third-largest trading partner within Asean. In 2023, bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $43.3 billion, with Indian imports being driven by palm oil and electronics.  

Indian tourist arrivals in Malaysia surged 165% to 325,000 when compared to 2019, according to the second-quarter GDP report by Bank Negara Malaysia, the Malaysian central bank.

The central bank said travel receipts are expected to increase further, driven by higher tourist arrivals and spending per capita, supported by the visa exemption for Chinese and Indian tourists and expanding flight network and capacity.