India and Malaysia enjoyed a long, strong relationship until 2019. Relations between the neighbouring nations went south after former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad spoke against New Delhi removing the autonomy of India’s only Muslim-majority region, Kashmir. Because of this, Malaysia’s export of palm oil to India took a massive hit.
However, this trend has shifted under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. He took office in 2022 and is working towards improving the damaged relationships between India and Malaysia, which can be seen in India’s increased edible palm oil imports from Malaysia. Further, Reuters also covered that the two nations started settling trades in their local currencies instead of using the Dollar as an exchange mechanism. Also, according to Reuters, Malaysia has already invested USD 5 billion in India and is looking for cooperation in fields like AI, semiconductors, and more.
Also read, Malaysia’s Tech Triumph: Infineon Opens Mega Chip Factory
The two countries also established a framework for the welfare of Indian workers heading to Malaysia, which recruits labour from around 15 countries, including India, for its palm plantations and other industries. Currently, there are approximately 140,000 Indian workers in Malaysia, the highest number to date, and this figure could increase as India looks to create job opportunities both domestically and internationally.
Narendra Modi mentioned, “With the support of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, there has been a new momentum and energy in our partnership.” He further adds, “Today, we have decided that our partnership will be elevated to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. We believe that there is still a lot of potential for economic cooperation. Bilateral trade and investment should be expanded.” In a press conference, Indian foreign ministry official Jaideep Mazumdar said that India would extend the export of 200,000 metric tons of non-basmati to Malaysia.
