Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (East) on the State Visit of Prime Minister of Malaysia to India (August 20, 2024)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this special briefing by Secretary East Shri Jaideep Mazumdar on the ongoing state visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, His Excellency Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim. On the dais, we are also joined by our High Commissioner to Malaysia, High Commissioner Shri B. N. Reddy and Shri Ashish Sinha, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, who looks after Malaysia. With that, I welcome Secretary (East) to make his opening remarks.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Thank you Randhir and a very warm welcome to all of you for this special briefing on the visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, His Excellency Anwar Ibrahim to India from the 19th to the 21st of August. This is the first visit of Prime Minister Ibrahim to India as Prime Minister and it assumes significance firstly because it is his first visit as Prime Minister since he took over in end of 2022.

Secondly, also the fact that we are nearly approaching 10 years of our enhanced strategic partnership with Malaysia, which was announced when Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji had visited Malaysia in 2015. As you would have seen from the press statements between the two leaders earlier today, it was marked by great warmth and personal rapport between the two leaders. Prime Minister Shri Anwar Ibrahim, when he was not yet in office, had visited India in 2019 for the Raisina dialogue when he had called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and they had developed a very close rapport and personal connection, which was visible, very much visible today in the interactions that they had and the way forward that they have charted for the two countries. In fact, they decided that they would enhance the relationship between India and Malaysia to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Prime Minister Mr. Anwar Ibrahim arrived yesterday and was accorded a ceremonial welcome today at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This was followed by a visit to Rajghat where he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. He held bilateral talks with the Prime Minister and later this afternoon, he will call on Rashtrapati ji, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar also called on the Malaysian Prime Minister. He will also address the Indian Council for World Affairs later this afternoon. Since Prime Minister Shri Anwar Ibrahim has assumed office in 2022, our relationship has really taken an upward swing. There have been more than 15 bilateral visits at the level of Minister or Deputy Minister and this is reflected in the very wide range of engagement that we have today between India and Malaysia and a chart that we have charted for the relationship going forward.

Today they had extensive discussions on trade and commerce, on defense and security, on cultural exchanges, people to people ties, on emerging areas like digital technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy and sustainable development. As you know, we have very, very close people to people connection with Malaysia. The Indian diaspora is the third largest in the world, numbering about nearly 3 million about 2.9 million and it is the second largest PIO community numbering about 2.75 billion. It is also home to many skilled and unskilled workers and IT professionals from India who participate in the Malaysian economy and contribute to its growth and development. There were several important agreements that were signed during this time.

Today we have an important area is in the recruitment, employment and repatriation of workers. This is quite a signal memorandum of understanding because it paves the way for the welfare of Indian workers, ensuring their welfare and their proper conditions of work as well as repatriation and this is something that both sides have been working on for some time and it will go a long way not only in securing the welfare of Indian workers but also opening up the entire field of employment in Malaysia that is open to foreign workers for Indian workers as well.

Another MoU that was signed was in the area of public administration and governance reform. A third on digital technologies, one on cultural cooperation, an agreement on tourism promotion. As you know, the India-Malaysia tourist traffic is booming. It is expected that we may touch as much as 1 million Indian tourists to Malaysia this year and the number of Malaysian tourists to India is also growing rapidly are around 200,000 Malaysian tourists to India. The number of flights are 220 flights a week from between India and Malaysia and we look forward to increasing this number. We have announced free e-visas for Malaysian tourists coming to India since the 1st of July and Malaysia similarly has a visa-free regime for Indians both for tourism and business purposes starting from the end of last year. So from all these accounts we can expect our tourism traffic between the two countries as well as business travel to boom which will also help our aviation sectors.

Another area of cooperation that we identified and signed an MoU was on Ayurveda and traditional medicine systems. There is an agreement between IFSCA and Labuan Financial Services on fintech and another MoU on promotion of sports and youth affairs. Both sides have a CEO's forum, a high-powered CEO's forum which met yesterday and presented a report before the two Prime Ministers. It will be published and you will see that it is a very ambitious objective in diverse areas of industry and investment between the two business entities. This was coordinated by CII from our side.

A number of other MoUs and agreements also happened on the sidelines of the visit. One was between BEML and SMH rails for supply of rolling stock for Indian railways, one between Invest India and Malaysian Indian Business Council and one between NASCOM and its counterpart PIKOM to bring the two chambers of IT industry closer together. As you know there's a very big presence of Indian IT companies in Malaysia as well. Some important announcements that were made during this visit to support Malaysia in its quest for food security.

We have announced that we will supply another 200,000 metric tons of non-basmati rice to Malaysia. A chair of Ayurveda will be set up at the Tunku Abdul Rahman University in Malaysia and a Tiruvalluvar chair will be set up at the Malay University. A digital council is being set up to push the digital connect between India and Malaysia. A startup bridge has been instituted to bring our startup ecosystems together.

Malaysia has announced its support for India's claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. India is offering 100 ITEC seats in Artificial Intelligence, cyber security and machine learning for Malaysian students and Malaysia has also announced joining the Big Cat Alliance. So as you will agree this is a very rich and diverse area of bilateral cooperation. Both countries agree on this ambitious and contemporary agenda for bilateral ties.

Our bilateral trade has also been booming. It's now touched 20 billion dollars. Malaysia is our third largest trading partner in ASEAN. FinTech startups, cross-border payments systems and UPI-based systems are the new drivers of our engagement with Malaysia and we look forward. The two Prime Ministers have in fact tasked us to set up a task force to implement all the diverse areas of engagement that we have identified during this visit and to present a report within three months. So it is something that we will start working right from today.

So that is it for me as far as the briefing on the visit is concerned but if you have any questions I would be happy to attempt to answer them.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Let's start from that corner now this time.

Raza: Raza from the Hindustan Times. Just wondering if the issue of Zakir Naik figured in the talks and whether we are seeing this visit of the Malaysian Prime Minister as a kind of an opportunity to reset from the period where we had a bit of a downturn over issues like Kashmir and the CAA.

Sudhi Ranjan: Sir Sudhi Ranjan from Bloomberg. Sir, I wanted some clarity on the labor agreement that you spoke about and also this 200,000 metric tons of non-basmati rice. Is it a one-time decision or is it an annual kind of a contract that we have done, sir?

Ayushi Agarwal: Sir, good afternoon. This is Ayushi Agarwal from ANI. Sir, one follow-up question on Zakir Naik. Can you expand more on the discussion related to the terrorism and extremism since the Prime Minister in his opening remarks mentioned about it. So were there any talks of extradition? Also were there any discussion related to Malaysia's keenness in joining the BRICS forum? Did the Prime Minister seek India's support for its accession to BRICS? Thank you.

Huma Siddiqui: Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from the Financial Express. I have two questions. One is that there was also mention of the FTA between India and Malaysia and FTA with ASEAN, if you can expand a little bit on that. And what about the defense and security? Malaysia was interested in buying some military platforms from India. Was that also discussed? Thank you.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Thank you. The last point I wanted to take first because I think I omitted to mention the defense and security pillar and you are absolutely right. This is an important area of our engagement and it was discussed between the two prime ministers, both in terms of the compatibility of equipment that we have and how we can co-operate in that area in terms of maintenance and extending service life of such equipment. And also in terms of India being a source country for defense exports that has happened over the last few years. India has emerged as a country that is able to put forward defense platforms and equipment that other countries have found useful. And it was also discussed that Malaysia could look at India for sourcing such equipment and platforms. We already have significant exchanges between our defense forces, both in terms of training as well as exchanges. We also participate in exercises, so it was discussed as to how to take that relationship forward. And there is absolutely no hesitancy on either side in carrying this forward.

On the other questions, let me just say that in the very wide-ranging and comprehensive discussions that both sides had, many issues were discussed. Many issues that have come up in the past as well were discussed. I don't want to go into any specifics, but it was a very wide-ranging discussion on issues that are important for both countries.

They also discussed about extremism and radicalism and as you know both sides, both leaders have seen eye to eye on that issue and how it is important to address issues of extremism and how to counter radicalism.

On the labor front, the agreement is important because it also annexes a model contract between employers and employees, which would be really like a guiding post on how such model contract should be for foreign workers. So we are very happy with that. It also lays down the obligations of employers and employees clearly and the welfare measures that are required to address issues of employee welfare and about their repatriation.

Regarding the 200,000 tons of rice, it is at the moment a one-off offer.

Regarding BRICS, yes BRICS was discussed. Malaysia is keen to become a member of BRICS and from our side we said we have no hesitation in considering that request and that this will be discussed no doubt when the other BRICS countries meet. The FTA with ASEAN was discussed in the context of the AITIGA. Malaysia is going to be the chair of ASEAN. It is also the co-ordinating country for economic matters at the moment, so its role is important in speeding up the AITIGA discussions and we hope that by 2025 we will have reached agreement on that. I hope I have not left anything out.

Abhishek Jha: Hi sir this is Abhishek Jha from CNN-News18. My question is regarding this Rupee and Ringgits trade that the Prime Minister mentioned. What is the level of, if you could explain that, and also about this RuPay and the Malaysian counterpart for the same. From when we can see this being started and from when this 1 million Indian tourist can actually use RuPay and other UPI cards in Malaysia.

Neeraj Kumar Dubey: Sir main Neeraj Dubey Prabhasakshi se. Sir, mera sawal Zakir Naik ke mudde par, halaki aapne uska jawab de diya, Zakir Naik ke mudde par batchit hui ya aatankwad, atiwaad ke mudde par jo charcha hui hai us par kya pragati hui hai sir?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Neeraj Dubey from Prabhasakshi. Sir, my question is about the issue of Zakir Naik, although you have already addressed it. What progress has been made regarding the discussions on the issue of Zakir Naik or the discussions on terrorism and extremism, sir?

Ileana:Ileana, TASS News Agency. For the last at least two years, as far as I remember, we regularly see in the media or somewhere else that Malaysia and India are discussing the supplies of Indian-made BrahMos missiles. I do understand the sensitivity of issues related to the defense sector, but can you please just clarify, are the countries negotiating the supplies of these missiles to Malaysia? And the second question on BRICS again, under discussion, what kind of membership of Malaysia in the bloc, partner or full membership, and what is the importance of, from India's point of view, what is the importance of Malaysia's future potential join to BRICS. Thank you.

Dhairya Maheshwari: Good afternoon, sir. Dhairya Maheshwari. My question is regarding the ASEAN centrality, which Prime Minister Modi also mentioned in his remarks during the joint press statement. Is there a sense that the ASEAN centrality is being challenged amid major geo-political rivalries? If you could give us a sense of what the leaders think and if there's any convergence of interests on these. Thank you, sir.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East):So, on the question of RuPay, I will defer to our High Commissioner, I think he may be more up to date on that subject, not on the RuPay, on the Rupee-Ringgit trade, would you like to take that first?

Shri B. N. Reddy, High Commissioner to Malaysia:Yes.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): And you can address RuPay as well, if you wish.

Shri B. N. Reddy, High Commissioner to Malaysia:Thank you, sir. Just want to clarify that the Rupee, particularly the trade settlements in Indian Rupee started from April last year and we had this Union Bank of India, which has opened this special Vostro account in India, which started facilitating the transactions of the trade settlements in Indian Rupees. In terms of how popular it is, I think I would say that it is in early stages, it is getting attraction among the businesses on both sides. Our Commerce and Industry Ministry has urged the Indian exporters who are dealing with Malaysia to take this particular route more often to the Rupee trade route.

On the other hand, we did several road shows in Malaysia, bringing in the Malaysian banks together which are actually having trade links with the Indian side, rather which are providing support to the Malaysian traders as also various trade organisations in Malaysia. This will take time because straightaway moving from this particular settlement.

Now, today I think is another important milestone because as our Secretary Sir has mentioned, that there is a clear direction given by the leadership of the two countries that this will be further enhanced in the days and years to come.

On the RuPay, it is too early to talk about RuPay actually being available in Malaysia because currently the payment gateways of the two countries are in close consultations and it would be suffice to say at this point in time that there is a great interest in Malaysia of the success that we have achieved in digital payments. As you all know, in fact, today the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji did mention that 50% of the global digital payments are just happening in India alone. So they are very attracted to this fact that these digital payments not only taking place within the country, eventually we could do the cross-border payments if we had similarly placed platforms such as UPI. So the discussions are on the way. Thank you.

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East):And on issues of terrorism, etc. As I have said before, both leaders discussed about the importance of tolerance, of racial harmony, of religious tolerance and religious harmony. And as you know, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has himself been a very great advocate of inter-religious harmony, inter-ethnic harmony and therefore it was in that context that both leaders discussed these issues.

Regarding BrahMos missile, there were no specifics discussed in terms of platforms or weapon systems during the discussions, but cooperation in general as to how India and Malaysia can be complementary and cooperative with each other in terms of the defense platforms and systems.

As regards BRICS membership, there are of course different views within BRICS as to what kinds of categories of members there should be. So there is really no unanimity among BRICS countries about whether further expansion is going to be possible in the same category of membership as full membership or some others wish to have a separate category of dialogue partner system. So this was not discussed. It was only discussed that Malaysia has put forward their desire to be a member of BRICS and India would be fully supportive and discuss this with the other members of BRICS in this context. We see Malaysia as a very close partner, as a very important partner, as a close neighbor and a country that can bring significant value to any partnership that they wish to join. ASEAN centrality. There is no doubt that ASEAN is central, whether it is in the Indo-Pacific context, whether it is in the East Asia context, whether it is in the Quad context, ASEAN is really a very central actor to whatever we do in this region and we say it very often because it is the truth and we believe in it.

Gautam Lahiri: Sir, ASEAN has been pursuing for peace process in Myanmar and Malaysia will be chairing the next year. Whether in this context any discussion regarding Myanmar is figured when the two prime ministers talk.

Manash Pratim Bhuyan: This is Manash Pratim Bhuyan from PTI, Press Trust of India. Did the two sides discuss the situation in the South China Sea, especially about China's increasing military muscle flexing in the region. And my second question is about, again, procurement of defense platforms. Last year, India lost out on the Malaysian fighter jet deal. Initially, Malaysia had shown interest in procuring Tejas. So are we hopeful of supplying the platform as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has already set up an office in Malaysia? Thank you.

Raza: Raza from the Hindustan Times. One clarification. Will this MoU on labor, on recruitment, will it supersede the 2009 MoU?

Sapna: Sir main Sapna Sadhna Group se. Sir, Pradhan mantri ji ne aaj kaha ki business se related jo batchit hui aage badhane ki liye Malaysia ke sath unko enhance karne ki baat thi, toh sir uspe koi specific strategy pe aaj batchit hui jis pe kaam karenge aage?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I am Sapna from Sadhna Group. Sir, the Prime Minister mentioned today that there was a discussion about enhancing business relations with Malaysia. Was there any specific strategy discussed today that will be worked on going forward?

Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): On Myanmar, of course, since we covered a very large number of areas of mutual interest, Myanmar is a very close neighbor of India's, and also of Malaysia's, and a member of ASEAN. And therefore, Myanmar did come up for discussion. And both sides felt that it was important that peace be maintained in Myanmar, and that ASEAN remains engaged with it to see how the five principles that ASEAN has identified to deal with Myanmar can be used to bring about a sustainable peace in Myanmar.

Regarding the South China Sea, it did come up in the context of the importance of free and open sea lines of communication, free navigation, commercial shipping, and overflight. So in that context, it did come up, the importance of these. These are important issues, not only in the South China Sea, but also as we see in the Arabian Sea as well, where we have had major disruptions in shipping. So yes, these issues did come up as things that we both need to address in terms of ensuring that the sea lines of communication are open, and they are important for energy security, for food security, and for industrial development.

Yes, HAL has opened an office in Kuala Lumpur. As I said before, we did not discuss upon specific platforms, but HAL, of course, produces a range of different aircraft. So Malaysia is a country which could be interested in both defense platforms as well as aircraft that can be used for other purposes, whether it be for transport or reconnaissance and things like that. So there are different types of platforms that HAL could offer to Malaysia.

On the 2009 MoU, I will defer to our High Commissioner. He wishes to say something on it. Regarding the strategy for business, I would say that both sides have identified a range of, in fact, the refrain was that the last few years were in a way lost opportunity between the two countries, and that both of them needed to really look at the way in which our industries, our businesses, can work together in carrying this relationship much further ahead than what it is at the moment. So in a range of areas, whether it is in semiconductors, in which Malaysia has a long history of experience, whether it is in renewable energy in terms of the infrastructure that India is building, the participation of Malaysian companies in that infrastructure in a very wide range of such areas, the CEO's forum has also identified the action points that need to be taken up between the two industry bodies. And therefore, we will see much more action on that. And on the 2009 MoU, you can take this.

Shri B. N. Reddy, High Commissioner to Malaysia: Thank you, sir. Just to clarify, the 2009 MoU on welfare of workers has expired many years back. As against that, what we have signed today is, as Secretary sir has clarified a little while ago, it talks about quite apart from welfare dimensions. But also, it has this recruitment and employment dimensions. And with a contract, draft contract, it is attached with this particular MoU. So what it does is, as a result, it gives a comprehensive framework for any Indian worker going to Malaysia that there are certain well-spelt out, I would say, assurances from both the governments, particularly in this case, the Malaysian side. As you know, Malaysia has about 15 source countries from where the workers come. But the large majority of them are within the region. But India is emerging. We have currently 1,40,000 Indian workers in Malaysia. This is the highest number that we have reached ever in terms of the recent times. Also in this particular MoU, for the first time it explicitly clarifies as Secretary sir mentioned a little while ago that the Indian workers will be allowed to work in all sectors which are open to foreign workers which was not there before. So this is another explicit mention that comes in. Third is also there is a provision for, as you know there is an e-migrate that we in the government of India follow for workers who are emigrating to other countries for work. So there is a provision for linking it with Malaysian counterpart. So this is something we will all be working because this will further help in many ways both the governments in identifying the location of the workers where they are currently deployed and also assess from the companies from where they are in terms of more details about their welfare. And the last but not the least today also, the Minister of Human Resources of Malaysia, he is actually in Delhi and part of the delegation and he is going to continue his discussions tomorrow, also with our Ministry of Skill Development and other Ministries. So in this context, coming back to the MoU, this is one of the comprehensive MoUs that Malaysia has signed with India for the first time.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you. With that we come to the closure of this special press briefing. Thank you sir for joining and thank you ladies and gentlemen for participating in this special briefing.

Thank you.

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