Rajnath to leave for Malaysia tomorrow

New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Malaysia on July 10-11, 2023, with focus on further consolidating bilateral defence cooperation and Enhanced Strategic Partnership. 

The minister will hold bilateral talks with his Malaysian counterpart Dato' Seri Mohamad Hasan, during which both the Ministers will review defence cooperation between the two countries and explore new initiatives to further strengthen the engagements. The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest.

Singh will also call on the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mr YB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim during the visit.

India and Malaysia have a common interest in peace and prosperity of the entire region. The two democracies have a robust and multifaceted relationship which has expanded into several strategic areas, including defence and security.

Last year in June, the two Ministers had discussed the existing defence cooperation activities and framework, and ways to further enhance them under the existing Malaysia India Defence Cooperation Meeting (MIDCOM) framework.

India and Malaysia share an upstanding defence relations, which has gained momentum in the last few years. In 1993, India & Malaysia signed an MoU on Defence Cooperation, which is the cornerstone of defence relations between the two countries. Both the countries are committed to work under the vision of Enhanced Strategic Partnership established during the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Malaysia in 2015. 

Malaysia is among a handful of countries showing keen interest in procuring India's indigenously developed TEJAS aircraft. TEJAS is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

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