Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed the depth of India-Malaysia relations, saying India’s success is intrinsically linked to the success of Malaysia and in turn the success of Asia. He also informed that the partnership between the two countries is guided by the vision of ‘IMPACT’ (India-Malaysia Partnership to Advance Collective Change).
Addressing the Indian diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the Southeast Asian country, said both nations celebrate each other’s achievements as their own and acknowledged the goodwill efforts of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, including his good wishes after the success of Chandrayaan-3.
Prime Minister Modi said, “We celebrate each other’s success as our own. I was extremely touched by Prime Minister Shri Anwar Ibrahim’s good wishes on the success of Chandrayaan-3. I agree with you, my friend; India’s success is Malaysia’s success. It is Asia’s success.”
Explaining the guiding framework of the bilateral relationship, the Prime Minister said, “That’s why I say the guiding word of our relationship is ‘impact’. Impact means the India-Malaysia partnership to drive collective change – impact on the pace of our relationship, impact on the scale of our ambitions and impact for the benefit of our people. Together we can do good for all humanity.”
Highlighting the growing economic and technological cooperation, Prime Minister Modi said that India and Malaysia are actively cooperating in important sectors, and also pointed out that 100 Indian IT companies are currently operating in the country.
He also mentioned that digital cooperation between the two countries is gaining momentum and said that India’s flagship digital payments system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), will soon be launched in the country.
He said, “It is our privilege to play a role in setting up Malaysia’s first and Asia’s largest insulin manufacturing facility. There are over 100 Indian IT companies operating in Malaysia, creating thousands of jobs.”
“The Malaysia-India Digital Council is creating new avenues for our digital cooperation. I am happy to share that India’s UPI service will soon be available in Malaysia,” the Prime Minister announced.
Prime Minister Modi spoke of the shared geographical and cultural ties across the Indian Ocean, emphasizing people-to-people ties as the foundation of relations.
“We share the blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Across the ocean, we love meeting each other,” he said, and he invited members of the expatriate community and their Malaysian friends to visit India.
The Prime Minister also highlighted India’s rapid infrastructure development, noting that the number of airports has doubled in the last decade, highways are being built at a record pace and modern trains like Vande Bharat have received international recognition.
He further added, “Over the past few years, India has seen unprecedented growth in infrastructure and connectivity. Our number of airports has doubled in a decade. Highways are being built at a record pace. Modern trains like Vande Bharat are being appreciated internationally. I encourage you to travel and experience Incredible India. You should also bring along your Malay friends. Because people-to-people contacts are the cornerstone of our friendship.”
Speaking on India’s economic transformation, Prime Minister Modi said, “India has seen a huge transformation in a decade. At one time we were the 11th largest economy; now we are close to breaking into the top three. We are also the fastest growing major economy in the world.”
He further said that initiatives like ‘Make in India’ have matured, and India is now emerging as the world’s second largest mobile phone manufacturer.
Prime Minister Modi is on a two-day visit to Malaysia with the aim of further strengthening the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by enhancing cooperation in the areas of economic, digital, cultural and people-to-people relations.
