Malaysia will scrap entry visa requirements for citizens of India and China visiting the nation beginning Dec. 1, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
Indian and Chinese nationals may stay for up to 30 days visa-free, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a speech at his People's Justice Party's annual congress in Putrajaya on Sunday. This would be subject to security screening, he added.
Malaysia is counting on extra tourist arrivals — and their spending — to support economic growth, the Bloomberg report said. China and India are Malaysia's fourth and fifth-largest source markets respectively.
Reuters citing Malaysian government data reported that the country recorded 9.16 million tourist arrivals between January and June this year, with 4,98,540 from China and 2,83,885 from India.
This comes days after reports emerged that Vietnam is in line to consider the possibility of introducing visa-free entry for Indian tourists.
Sri Lanka and Thailand are allowing visa-free entry for Indians. Thailand has granted visa-free entry for Indian nationals since November 10.
Last month, Sri Lankan Cabinet approved the policy to issue free tourist visas to travellers from India and six other countries. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry in a statement said that this would be carried out as a pilot project effective until March 31, 2024.
Describing India's relationship with Malaysia as “very precious”, India's envoy in Kuala Lumpur has said that there is a huge potential for enhanced bilateral trade and investments to bolster their strategic ties.
“This is one relationship which is very important for the region given the proximity, diaspora connect, and the desire of both governments to realise this enhanced strategic partnership,” India's High Commissioner to Malaysia B N Reddy said.
Talking to a group of Indian journalists who visited Malaysia as part of the ASEAN-India Media Exchange Programme 2023, Reddy said there is a huge potential for both trade and investments between the two countries.
He described the relationship with Malaysia as “very precious” for India and said the two countries just concluded 65 years of diplomatic relations last year and they are in the process of now realising the enhanced strategic partnership established during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit in 2015.
(With PTI inputs)
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