Malaysian Prime Minister highlights growing cooperation in trade, AI and digital sectors as India remained Malaysia’s largest trading partner in South Asia in 2025….reports Asian Lite News
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening relations with India, saying deeper cooperation between the two countries would support mutual economic growth, regional stability and broader prosperity.
The Malaysian leader made the remarks during a farewell courtesy meeting with India’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, BN Reddy, who is concluding his diplomatic tenure in Kuala Lumpur.
In a statement posted on X after the meeting, Ibrahim said both sides discussed efforts to further expand bilateral cooperation under the India Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework.
“This meeting was also utilised to strengthen bilateral relations between Malaysia and India, which are currently at the level of Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation, thereby reflecting our shared commitment to expanding cooperation across various fields, including trade, digital, artificial intelligence, food security, education, and people-to-people relations,” Ibrahim wrote.
The Malaysian Prime Minister also highlighted the growing economic relationship between the two countries, noting that bilateral trade reached USD18.59 billion in 2025.
According to Ibrahim, the figure maintained India’s position as Malaysia’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
He also pointed to increasing collaboration in digital technology and emerging sectors, particularly artificial intelligence, saying ties had advanced through initiatives such as the first Malaysia India Digital Council meeting and the MY India AI Conclave recently held in Kuala Lumpur.
“Malaysia will continue to strengthen this good relationship for mutual benefit, regional stability, and more inclusive prosperity for both countries,” Ibrahim said.
India and Malaysia have steadily expanded cooperation in recent years across trade, investment, technology, defence and education.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Malaysia and held talks with Ibrahim aimed at reviewing progress under the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Following the meeting, PM Modi said both countries had agreed to deepen collaboration in several strategic sectors.
“India and Malaysia are maritime neighbours who have always enjoyed a close friendship. We reviewed developmental cooperation in sectors like trade, infrastructure, energy, IT, biotechnology and more,” Modi wrote on X after the February meeting.
“We also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of security, defence, AI, digital technologies and semiconductors,” he added.
Ibrahim had also described Modi’s visit as an important step in advancing bilateral relations and strengthening long term cooperation between the two countries.
“This visit drew to a close with an optimistic sense that the friendship between the two countries will continue to flourish, rooted in a long history and driven by a spirit of mutual respect and shared hopes for the future,” Ibrahim had stated during Modi’s visit.
India and Malaysia have increasingly focused on emerging technology partnerships and regional economic cooperation as both countries seek to expand their influence within the Indo Pacific region.
