Jaishankar's Malaysia visit provided opportunity to further develop Enhanced Strategic Partnership: MEA

Kuala Lumpur: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Malaysia and his meetings with the country's top leadership presented an opportunity to reiterate commitment to further develop the bilateral Enhanced Strategic Partnership, an official statement said on Thursday.

Jaishankar was in Kuala Lumpur from March 27 to 28 as part of the last leg of his three-nation tour to Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.

He called on Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Bin Ibrahim and thanked him for his support in deepening bilateral ties under the India-Malaysia Enhanced Strategic Partnership, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Jaishankar's visit to Malaysia provided an opportunity to reiterate commitment to further develop the Enhanced Strategic Partnership, it said.

Anwar gave his commitment to facilitate the establishment of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) branch campus in Malaysia, the official Bernama news agency reported.

The Prime Minister also expressed appreciation to his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, for assisting Malaysia when the country was hit by a rice shortage and hoped for further facilitation on importing agricultural produce from India.

"May the Malaysian-Indian relationship continue to grow and blossom for the benefit of the people of both friendly countries," Anwar said.

Jaishankar also held a bilateral meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Bin Haji Hasan and held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral cooperation, including political, trade and economic, defence, digital, cultural and education.

The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on regional and global interest issues, according to the MEA.

Jaishankar also met the Minister of Digital Gobind Singh Deo.

During his visit, Jaishankar held a round-table meeting with the CEOs and leaders of the industry. He also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora in Malaysia and praised their contribution towards India-Malaysia ties.

Malaysia is a key partner for India in ASEAN and its Act East Policy, the MEA said.