Kuala Lumpur, Mar. 27: External Affairs Minister Of India S Jaishankar on Wednesday called on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and appreciated his vision for stronger bilateral ties, asserting that it would help craft a more “ambitious agenda” for the India-Malaysia relationship.

Jaishankar is in Kuala Lumpur on the third and last leg of his three-nation tour to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.

“Honour to call on Prime Minister @anwaribrahim of Malaysia. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. Praising the Malaysian prime minister’s vision for a stronger bilateral relationship, he said, “His vision for stronger India-Malaysia ties, both in traditional and new-age areas, will help us craft a more ambitious agenda for the relationship.” “Benefitted from his guidance and insights on regional developments,” he added.

Earlier, Jaishankar met his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad bin Haji Hasan. The two foreign ministers held a “productive and frank discussion, including exchanging views on the multifaceted dimensions of Malaysia-India bilateral affairs as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest,” the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official statement.

“Delighted to meet FM @tokmatn9 to begin my visit to Malaysia,” Jaishankar said in a post on X. “Exchanged views on enhancing collaboration in political, economic, defence, digital, startups, consular and p2p (people-to-people) linkages. Shared perspectives on the region, Indo-Pacific, West Asia and Ukraine,” he said.

Jaishankar said that he looks forward to further strengthening engagements as the two countries near the completion of a decade of Enhanced Strategic Partnership. The ministers also discussed the exchange of high-level visits and the convening of the 7th Joint Commission Meeting of Malaysia and India on a mutually agreeable date.

This was the first meeting between Jaishankar and Hasan since the latter took office in December 2023, the statement said. Jaishankar is also scheduled to meet Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo, the foreign ministry here said. His visit aims to strengthen cooperation between India and Malaysia and enhance understanding of shared challenges and opportunities, it said.

Malaysia and India share a long-standing and substantive relationship bound by robust economic partnerships and close people-to-people ties.

In 2023, India was Malaysia’s 12th largest global trading partner, with total trade amounting to RM 77.76 billion (USD 16.53 billion), the statement said.-Agencies