Najib (centre) will arrive in India for a state visit today. — file pic
As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrives in India today, New Delhi is hoping to press the reset button on an important relationship with one of the biggest countries in southeast Asia that was in danger of becoming decrepit and even sour.
Najib’s decision to visit India, in the first year of his government, right after visiting China, is being seen as an indication of the way the wind blows.
While seeking to enhance bilateral ties, India and Malaysia are also expected to sign a number of MoUs and agreements including an extradition treaty. Sources said efforts were on to finalise an extradition treaty and sign it during Najib’s five-day stay.
Najib will hold talks with Indian PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh on a wide range of issues and explore ways to step up bilateral ties in various areas, particularly trade and investment.
The visiting leader will meet President Pratibha Patil and other leaders including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, MEA spokesman Vishnu Prakash told reporters.
Although bilateral trade is at US$10 billion (RM34 billion), a more significant area of co-operation between India and Malaysia is in the area of defence. Since Malaysia invested in Sukhoi aircraft from Russia, India has been training their pilots for the past year-and-a-half. Defence officials say this was largely due to Najib himself, an initiative taken when he was defence minister.
For India, repairing and improving relations with Malaysia is important as the Asean FTA takes shape, giving Malaysian companies a bigger space in the Indian economic pie. This visit will see some 13 MoUs between Indian and Malaysian companies, and there is growing interest in real estate investment in Malaysia, too.
Najib will be accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor who, as a diehard fan of movie star Datuk Shah Rukh Khan, has specially asked to see him. Shah Rukh was given a Melaka state Datukship in 2008 and has a substantial number of fans in the country.
India’s ties with Malaysia have been rocky at best. Malaysia continues to oppose the East Asia community or the Asean+Six formulation, keeping its position in line with the Chinese. With a large Indian population (mainly Tamil) in Malaysia, a spate of attacks against them has not helped either.
Asked about this, the MEA spokesman parried a direct answer. Whenever safety and security of Indian nationals abroad was compromised, the government took necessary and suitable steps, he said. — Times of India
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