India, Malaysia Aim To Boost Trade, Local Currency Use, Defence During Modi Visit

India and Malaysia on Sunday agreed to deepen collaboration in trade in local currency, digital economy and defence during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Kuala Lumpur, his first foreign trip of 2026.

"We'll continue to deepen collaboration in all fields- trade and investment, semiconductor, digital economy, trade in local currency, connectivity, energy, agriculture, food, security, defence, education, healthcare, tourism, culture and people-to-people," said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

"We have seen the exchanges of 11 documents, including MOUs, in an exchange of letters which extended beyond normal bilateral arrangements. We have covered even peacekeeping cooperation on semiconductor, healthcare and security cooperation," he added.

Ibrahim also said his country along with the ASEAN bloc could secure more ways and opportunities to collaborate with India to extend trade beyond $18 billion in 2025, including the decision to use local currency.

PM Modi said bilateral cooperation in energy, infrastructure and manufacturing has strengthened over the last deacde. "Mutual investment in digital economy, biotech and IT has increased .Tourism and people-to-people ties have also deepened. Drawing inspiration from these achievements, we have decided to bring in unprecedented speed and depth in our partnership."

In the security sector, India and Malaysia will strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism, intelligence sharing and maritime security. "We will also make defence cooperation more comprehensive. Along with AI and digital technologies, we will further advance our partnership in semiconductor, health and food security," Modi said.

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