Malaysia on Sunday welcomed India’s chairmanship of the BRICS 2026 summit later this year and lauded India’s call for reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to make the global institution more representative of contemporary realities during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the Southeast Asian country.
India also reaffirmed its commitment to support Malaysia’s role as a BRICS partner country and underlined Malaysia’s aspiration to become a full member of the grouping. According to the joint statement, this was emphasized during the talks between Prime Minister Modi and his Malaysian counterpart, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in which the two leaders exchanged views on key regional and global issues and stressed the need for peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy.
The two leaders described the cooperation as a strategic milestone towards building a more balanced and representative international order. “Malaysia welcomed India’s 2026 BRICS Chairmanship, while India reaffirmed its commitment to support Malaysia’s role as a BRICS partner country and noted Malaysia’s aspiration to become a member of BRICS,” the statement said.
The two Prime Ministers also agreed to strengthen cooperation in multilateral fora, including the United Nations, and resolved to work together to support reforms of international institutions, with India deeply appreciating Malaysia’s support for India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
“The two Prime Ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in multilateral fora, including the United Nations, and support reforms of international institutions. They resolved to work together to promote multilateralism, reflecting contemporary realities, to make international organizations, including the UN Security Council, more representative,” the statement said.
It further said, “India deeply appreciated Malaysia’s support for India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.” Prime Minister Modi also congratulated Malaysia for its successful Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025, as the two leaders reaffirmed support for ASEAN unity and ASEAN centrality and committed to strengthening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The leaders reiterated their commitment to a free, open, rules-based, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific and welcomed deeper cooperation between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
“The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a free, open, rules-based, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Both sides welcomed the deepening of efforts to implement the ‘ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) for Peace, Stability and Prosperity in the Region’, including AOIP and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI),” the statement said. “This includes enhancing cooperation between the two countries, as well as taking concrete initiatives towards implementing the areas of cooperation of the AOIP,” the statement said.
The statement further said that they also reaffirmed respect for freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. Both sides welcomed the signing of several important agreements, including the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Combating and Preventing Corruption, the Memorandum of Understanding on Disaster Management, the Memorandum of Cooperation on Social Security for Indian Nationals in Malaysia and the Agreement on Audio-Visual Co-Production and Also witnessed the exchange of views on cooperation in semiconductors, healthcare, national security and vocational education and training (TVET), and noted the ratification by Malaysia of the Framework Agreement on the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA).
The leaders appreciated the formal formation of the Malaysia-India Digital Council (MIDC) and recognized it as a key platform to advance digital cooperation in the fields of fintech, e-governance, cyber security, artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure (DPI) and emerging technologies.
He also welcomed the collaboration between NPCI International Limited (NIPL) and PayNet Malaysia to establish bilateral payment relations, as the agreement between NIPL and PayNet Sdn Bhd on cross-border payments is expected to enhance the ease of doing business and provide seamless, low-cost payment and remittance solutions for tourists, students and small businesses, thereby strengthening economic and people-to-people ties.
India and Malaysia also emphasized strengthening bilateral economic, defense and strategic ties, while underscoring the growing importance of cooperation in a range of sectors. On the trade front, both leaders emphasized the importance of the Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA) and the ASEAN-India Commodity Trade Agreement (AITIGA) and welcomed the ongoing review of AITIGA to facilitate trade, strengthen mutual benefits and align with current global trade practices.
The statement said the two Prime Ministers appreciated the continued cooperation between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank Negara Malaysia to promote local currency settlements in bilateral trade and investment, and encouraged industries on both sides to use the Indian Rupee and Malaysian Ringgit for billing and trade settlements.
The visit also highlighted the strong defense cooperation between the two countries through regular exchanges, staff talks, exercises, training courses and defense industry cooperation. The successful outcomes of the Malaysia-India Committee on Defense Cooperation (MIDCOM), including the establishment of the Strategic Affairs Working Group (SAWG) and the Su-30 Forum, were also welcomed by both sides.
The Prime Ministers reaffirmed India’s participation in the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) framework and welcomed the co-chairmanship with Malaysia of the Counter-Terrorism Working Group for 2024-2027 and extended an invitation to all ADMM-Plus members for the upcoming Counter-Terrorism Expert Working Group Table-Top Exercise (EWG CT TTX), which Malaysia will host in 2026.
The Prime Ministers strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and reaffirmed their commitment to combat radicalization, terrorism financing and transnational organized crime through intelligence sharing, capacity building and multilateral cooperation under the United Nations and FATF frameworks. In the energy sector, the leaders acknowledged cooperation between Petronas and Gentari in India’s renewable energy and green hydrogen initiatives and highlighted the prospects for large-scale solar energy projects leveraging Malaysia’s expertise. Both countries reiterated their commitment towards clean energy and mutual net-zero goals and appreciated India’s International Solar Alliance (ISA) initiative.
The strategic semiconductor sector was also a key focus, with both sides emphasizing technological innovation, workforce development and supply chain strengthening. The collaborative initiatives under the ongoing bilateral collaboration between IIT Madras Global and Advanced Semiconductor Academy of Malaysia and IESA and MSIA were appreciated.
The visit underlines the shared vision of India and Malaysia to promote regional stability, security and prosperity as well as enhance economic, defence, strategic and technological cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed from the Kuala Lumpur airport after concluding his engagements, concluding his two-day official visit to the country.
Following his departure, the Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to his Malaysian counterpart and his affection towards the people of the country in a post on Twitter. This was also Prime Minister Modi’s first foreign visit of 2026.
“Last year, I could not go to Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit. But, I had promised my friend, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, that I would come to Malaysia as soon as possible. And now, my first international visit of 2026 took place in Malaysia. This visit will boost economic and cultural ties between our countries. I am grateful to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the government and the people of Malaysia for their kindness,” the post said.
The Prime Minister also interacted with a veteran of the Azad Hind Fauj, also known as the Indian National Army (INA), in which he highlighted the historical role of the force and its enduring legacy among the Indian community in South East Asia.
During the interaction, PM Modi met former INA soldier Jairaj Raja Rao and described the meeting as extremely inspiring. Sharing photos on Twitter, the Prime Minister said, “It was a very special experience to meet former INA soldier Shri Jairaj Raja Rao. His life is full of indomitable courage and sacrifice. It was extremely inspiring to hear his experiences.”He also interacted with CEOs of India and Malaysia through the In Malaysia CEO Forum.
