Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his two-day visit to Malaysia with a warm welcome at the airport by Malaysia Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Kuala Lumpur, NFAPost: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two day vist to Malaysia on Saturday as he was given a warm welcome at the airport by Malaysia Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim along with his Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Dato’ Ramanan Ramakrishnan and Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Lukanisman bin Awang Sauni.
The current two-day visit is Narendra Modi’s 3rd visit as Prime Minister to Malaysia since 2015. His reception at the airport was followed by a colorful cultural welcome highlighting the shared heritage of both countries.
The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to further strengthen the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in 2024. It reflects India’s strong commitment to strengthening India-Malaysia ties which is a key pillar of our Act East Policy, Indo-Pacific vision and Vision MAHASAGAR.
Before leaving India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the historic ties between India and Malaysia have seen steadfast progress in recent years.
“I look forward to my discussions with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and further enhancing our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We will aim to deepen our defence and security ties, enhance our economic and innovation partnership, and expand our collaboration into new domains,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also expressed his eagerness to meet the Indian community in Malaysia. “Numbering nearly three million, they represent one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world. Their immense contribution to Malaysia’s progress and their role as a living bridge between our two nations provides a strong foundation to our historic friendship,” added Narendra Modi before boarding his flight from New Delhi.
While interacting with Indian community in Malaysia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said not just that Malaysian Prime Minister came to the airport to welcome and brought him in his car, these special gestures reflect his love and respect for India and for all its diaspora in Malaysia.
“I am grateful for your warm words, hospitality and friendship. We have just seen a record setting cultural performance. More than 800 dancers in perfect harmony. This performance will be remembered by our people for years to come. I congratulate you. I congratulate all the performers,” said Narendra Modi.
Lauding Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Narendra Modi said they have been been friends even before he became Prime Minister and appreciated his focus on reforms, great intellect and able Chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2025.
“Last year, I could not visit Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit. But I promised my friend that I will come to Malaysia soon. And as promised, I am here. This is my first foreign visit in 2026. I am delighted to be with you during these festive times. I hope everyone celebrated Sankranti, Pongal and तइ-पूसम् with great joy. Soon, the festival of Shivaratri is coming. In a few days, Ramzan begins and then हरि राया will be celebrated with great devotion. I wish everyone happiness and good health,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Highlighting the fact that Malaysia has the second-largest Indian-origin community in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there is so much that connects Indian and Malaysian hearts.
“The exhibition that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and I saw a short while ago, shows these connections beautifully. You are a living bridge that links us. You have connected रोटी चनाई with the मलाबार परोट्टा. Coconut, spices and of course तेह तारिक… The flavours feel so familiar, whether it is in Kuala Lumpur or Kochi. We understand each other so well. It must be due to the large number of common words between our languages and मलय,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He also said that Indian movies and music are popular in Malaysia. “You all know that Prime Minister अनवर इब्राहीम sings very well. But many Indians back home did not know it. During his last visit, they were pleasantly surprised. Videos of him singing an old Hindi song in India went viral! It is wonderful that he also loves Tamil songs of the legendary MGR,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He appreciated Malaysians for giving a spacial place for India in their hearts and remembered very clearly an instance from 2001 during the Gujarat earthquake when many Malaysians came together to help.
“And even long before that, to make India a free country, thousands of your ancestors made great sacrifices. Many of them had never seen India. But they were among the first to join Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. In his honour we renamed the Indian Cultural Centre in Malaysia after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. I also take this moment to salute the efforts of the Netaji Service Centre and Netaji Welfare Foundation in Malaysia,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On the threads of cultural unity that bind Indians strongly with the strength of unity in diversity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out that 500 schools in Malaysia teach children in Indian languages.
“The influence of great saints like तिरुवळ्ळुवर् and स्वामी विवेकानंद can also be felt here. The तइ-पूसम् in बतु caves last week was so divine that it looked like the celebrations at पळनि. Equally grand are the cultural celebrations at श्री वेंकटेश्वरा Temple, बागान दातोह. I am told that Garba is very popular here. We also deeply cherish the cultural connections with our Sikh brothers who live here. You have carried the teachings of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji to this day by promoting नाम जपो, किरत करो, वंड छको,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Highlighting the fact that Tamil is India’s gift to the world and Tamil literature is eternal and Tamil culture is global, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said Tamil people have also served humanity with their talents.
“And I proudly say India’s Vice President C P Radhakrishnan ji, Our Foreign Minister Jaishankar ji who is with us today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji, who has presented our budget nine times. Dr. Murugan, our Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, are all from Tamil Nadu,” said Prime Minister.
In the same way, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the members of the Tamil diaspora in Malaysia are serving the society in various fields.
“In fact, The Tamil diaspora has been here for many centuries. Inspired by this history, we are proud to have established the तिरुवळ्ळुवर Chair in the University of मलाया. We will now set up a तिरुवळ्ळुवर Centre to further strengthen our shared heritage,” said Narendra Modi.
On the relationship with Malaysia, which is scaling new heights each year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in 2024, during the visit of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to New Delhi, that both elevated Indo-Malaysia ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
“Today, we walk hand in hand as partners towards progress and prosperity. We celebrate each other’s success just as our own. I was touched by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s good wishes on the historic success of Chandrayaan-3. I agree with you, my dear friend. India’s success is Malaysia’s success, it is Asia’s success. That is why, I say the guiding word of our relationship is IMPACT. IMPACT means India Malaysia Partnership for Advancing Collective Transformation. IMPACT on the speed of our relations; IMPACT on the scale of our ambitions; IMPACT for the benefit of our people; Together, we can benefit entire humanity!,” said Narendra Modi.
On the economic front, Prime Minister said Indian companies have always been keen to work with Malaysia. “It is a privilege that we played a part in creating Malaysia’s first and Asia’s largest insulin manufacturing facility. Over 100 Indian IT companies operate in Malaysia, generating thousands of jobs. The Malaysia-India Digital Council is paving new pathways for our digital collaboration. I am happy to share with you that India’s UPI will come to Malaysia soon,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
We share the same blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Across the ocean, we love to visit each other. I invite you all to visit different parts of India.
In the past few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi India has seen unprecedented growth in infrastructure and connectivity and invited Indian diaspora to bring thier friends in Malysia to visit different parts of India.
“”The number of our airports has doubled in a decade. Highways are being built at a record pace. Modern trains like Vande Bharat are getting international acclaim. I encourage more of you to travel and experience Incredible India. You must also bring your मलय friends with you. Don’t come alone. Because people-to-people connect is the cornerstone of our friendship,” said Narendra Modi.
During his visit in 2015 India was the 11th largest economy in the world and now we are knocking on the doors of the Top 3 and also the world’s fastest growing major economy. “Then, Make in India was a sapling that was just planted. Now, India is the world’s second-largest mobile manufacturer. Our defence exports have gone up nearly 30 times since 2014. India has also become the third-largest startup hub in the world,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prime Minister also said India built the world’s largest Digital Public Infrastructure and the world’s largest fintech ecosystem. Nearly half of the world’s real-time digital transactions happen in India, thanks to UPI platform. While growing fast, Prime Minister said India also ensured that its growth is clean and green. For example, in one decade, our solar energy has grown about 40 times.
“Earlier, India was seen just as a huge market. Now, we are a hub for investment and trade. India is seen as a trusted partner for growth. Whether it is the UK, UAE, Australia, New Zealand, Oman, the EU or USA, countries have trade deals with India. Trust has become India’s strongest currency,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Stating the country’s established policy, Prime Minister said India will always embrace its diaspora with open arms. “That is why we made a historic decision just a few months ago. We extended the OCI card eligibility to Malaysian citizens of Indian origin up to the 6th generation. We have been supporting the Indian Scholarships Trust Fund. Now, we are also going to give तिरुवळ्ळुवर Scholarships for students to study in India. And we look forward to seeing you in the Know India Programme,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Further sharing the importance of his visit to Malaysia, he said in this journey Pravasi Bharatiyas, the Indian diaspora, is a valuable partner. “Whether you were born in Kuala Lumpur or Kolkata, India lives in your hearts. You are an active part of Malaysia’s and India’s progress. You will help realise the vision of prosperous Malaysia and Viksit Bharat,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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