India and Malaysia pledge to bolster trade, defence collaborations

India’s Modi and Malaysia’s Anwar plan partnerships spanning semiconductors, defence, healthcare and food security.Published On 8 Feb 2026Leaders from India and Malaysia have affirmed their commitment to strengthening trade ties and exploring new cooperation in semiconductors, defence and other sectors.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met on Sunday in the Malaysian administrative capital, Putrajaya.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Modi, Trump announce India-US ‘trade deal’: What we know and what we don’tlist 2 of 3Can India switch from Russian to Venezuelan oil, as Trump wants?list 3 of 3US announces proposed critical mineral trading blocend of listThe two leaders pledged ⁠to deepen Indian-Malaysian collaboration across trade and investments, food security, defence, healthcare and tourism.“It’s really comprehensive, and we believe that we can advance this and execute in a speedy manner with the commitment of both our governments,” Anwar ‌said at a news conference after hosting Modi at his official residence in Putrajaya.Modi is on a two-day visit to the Southeast Asian country. It is his first since the two countries elevated ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in August 2024.“Had an excellent meeting with PM Anwar Ibrahim at Seri Perdana earlier today. India and Malaysia are maritime neighbours who have always enjoyed a close friendship,” Modi posted on X.After their meeting, Anwar and ‌Modi witnessed the exchange of 11 cooperation agreements their countries had signed, including on disaster management and peacekeeping.Anwar ⁠said India and Malaysia would continue efforts to promote the use of local-currency settlement for cross-border activities and expressed ‌hope that bilateral trade would surpass last year’s $18.6bn.Malaysia will also support India’s efforts to open a consulate in Malaysia’s Sabah state on Borneo island, Anwar said.