Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Saturday to a thunderous welcome. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim received PM Modi at the airport.
“Deeply touched by the warm welcome received by my friend Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the airport. I look forward to our talks and further strengthening India-Malaysia friendship,” PM Modi said on the X social media platform.
Traditional music and dance performances set the scene and celebrated the shared cultural heritage of both nations as PM Modi received a grand red carpet welcome on his arrival.
Malaysian Human Resources Minister Ramanan Ramakrishnan and Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman bin Awang Sauni joined Imrahim to receive PM Modi.
PM Modi and Malaysian PM to hold talks – what’s on the agenda?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart will hold wide-ranging talks on Sunday, February 8, which are expected to yield a series of agreements to further expand cooperation between the two nations.
As part of the delegation-level talks, New Delhi is to again press Kuala Lumpur to extradite controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, PTI reported.
In his departure statement, Modi indicated that the visit would focus on a major push for deeper defense cooperation and strong economic engagement.
“The historic ties between India and Malaysia have seen steady progress in recent years. I look forward to my talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and further strengthening our comprehensive strategic partnership,” Modi said.
“We will seek to deepen our defense and security ties, strengthen our economic and innovation partnership, and expand our cooperation into new areas,” he said.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Prime Minister Modi’s visit has a “rich agenda and will be a big boost to the special partnership between India and Malaysia”.
“The visit is expected to give a significant impetus to our close and multilateral partnership,” he said.
What did the Malaysian Prime Minister say?
The two prime ministers traveled in the same car to the venue of the Indian community event, which was also attended by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“Celebrating people to people connection between India and Malaysia! Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and I are heading to a community program in Kuala Lumpur,” Modi said in another post on social media.