India - Malaysia Relations
India established diplomatic relations with the Federation of Malaya (predecessor
state of Malaysia) in 1957. India is represented in Malaysia through the High
Commission of India based in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is represented in India
through their High Commission in New Delhi and Consulates General in Mumbai and
Chennai.
High level visits: India and Malaysia have close and friendly relations and regular
Summit level meetings. The last VVIP visit from Malaysia to India was the visit of
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd NajibTun Razak in January 2010 and again on
December 20-21, 2012 to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. From
India, the last VVIP visit was by the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to
Malaysia on October 26 – 28, 2010. During the visit of PM, a Framework for
Strategic Partnership was agreed to, which envisions development of a multi-faceted
relationship with a view to elevate bilateral relations to the level of a long term and
strategic partnership. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce &
Industry visited Malaysia on 12-14 July 2015 to participate in RCEP Intersessional
Ministerial Meeting. She also held a bilateral meeting with her counterpart.
Joint Commission meeting: The last meeting of the India-Malaysia Joint
Commission, led by Foreign Ministers of both countries was held in Kuala Lumpur on
May 3, 2011, where the entire gamut of bilateral relations was reviewed. There is
also the mechanism of Foreign Office Consultations at Secretary-level between the
two countries and the last meeting was in Malaysia on March 12, 2012.
Parliamentary interaction: The Parliament of India has constituted an IndiaMalaysia
Parliamentary Friendship Group since October 2011. Tan Sri Pandikar
Amin Mulia, Speaker of Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives – the Lower
House) of Malaysia, paid a working visit to India on July 29-30, 2013 and met the
Speaker of Lok Sabha. The Malaysian Parliament has extended an invitation to the
Speaker of the Lok Sabha to lead an Indian Parliamentary Delegation to Malaysia.
Agreements and MoUs: Several Agreements and MoUs have been signed between
the two countries, including in the field of Commerce, Avoidance of Double Taxation,
Customs matters, Higher Education, Extradition, Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal
Matters, Tourism, Traditional medicine, IT and services, Cultural Exchange
Programme, Public Administration and Governance, to name a few.
Defence & Security Cooperation: India-Malaysia defence relations have steadily
grown over the years. A MOU on Defence Cooperation was signed in 1993. There
have been visits by the Defence Ministers to each other’s country and the last visit of
Malaysian Defence Minister to India was in 2006 and that of Indian Defence Minister
in January 2008. Malaysia-Indian Defence Cooperation meetings at the level of
Defence Secretary are held regularly. Staff talks between the three services have
been operationalized and are held regularly on annual basis. Service Chiefs from
both countries regularly exchange visits. Joint exercises “Harimau Shakti” are held
annually between the two countries and there is scope for its upgradation. Indian Air
Force Training Team was deployed in Malaysia to train Malaysian pilots on the SU-
30SKM aircraft from 2008 to 2010. Indian naval ships also make regularly port calls
in Malaysia; last visit was by the Eastern Fleet ships to Kemaman Port in June 2015.
Following the news of disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370 from
Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, India extended all necessary assistance
to the Malaysian authorities and deployed six ships and five aircrafts initially to
undertake search operations in Bay of Bengal region and thereafter deployed two
search and rescue aircrafts namely C130J and P8i in Subang Airport, Malaysia to
assist in search operations. Five passengers in the flight were Indian nationals and
the High Commission of India had provided necessary assistance to the families of
the five passengers.
Economic and Commercial Cooperation: Economic and commercial relations is
the mainstay of the bilateral relationship. Malaysia is the third largest trading partner
for India within ASEAN, and India is the largest trading partner for Malaysia from
among the countries of the South, and India is the largest trading partner for
Malaysia from among the countries of the South, excluding China. India and
Malaysia signed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) on July
1, 2010, which came into force from July 1, 2011. India has signed the free trade
agreement (FTA) in services and investments with the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Sept. 2014. CECA covers goods, services,
investment and other areas of cooperation. First CECA review meeting took place in
New Delhi on 8-9 December, 2014.
An India-Malaysia CEOs Forum, comprising 18 CEOs from both sides, has also
been set up in October 2010 to develop enhanced partnership and cooperation at
the business level. The 6th meeting was held in Bangalore in January 2014.
The bilateral trade between India and Malaysia in 2014 was US$ 13.84 billion (US$
9.77 billion for Malaysian exports and US$ 4.07 billion for Indian exports). Trade
remains significantly imbalanced in favour of Malaysia.
Malaysia is one of the significant investors in India. It is estimated that, if the
Mauritius route is also included, the investment of Malaysia in India could be as high
as US$ 7 billion. However, as per available data, Malaysia is currently the 19th
largest investor in India with FDI inflows of US$ 732 million in the last 15 years.
Malaysian FDI in India is primarily focused on Roads and Highways,
Telecommunications, Oil & Gas, Power plants, Tourism and Human Resources. The
highest investment proposals have been in the Telecommunications, followed by
Power Sectors, Oil Refining and Roads & Highways. Notable among these are
investments by companies like Maxis Communications in Aircel, Axiata in IDEA
Cellular Ltd, Khazanah in IDFC and Apollo Hospitals, AirAsia in civil aviation and
several other investments. Malaysian construction companies’ largest presence
outside Malaysia is in India.
On the other hand, as per Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA),
Indian cumulative investment into Malaysia from 1980-2014 has been around US$
2.31 billion which include Jan-Dec 2014 – US$ 225.50 million. A total of 13 projects
were approved & implemented with Indian participation in Textiles & Textile
Products, Chemical & Chemical Products, Non-Metallic Mineral Products, Basic
Metal Products, Fabricated Metal Products and Machinery & Equipment amounting
to US$ 2.93 million in 2014. At present, there are more than 115 Indian companies
including 61 Indian joint ventures, 7 Indian Public Sector Undertakings and 60 Indian
IT companies operating in/from Malaysia. Their areas of operation are manufacture
of Textiles and Yarn, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, Glass Containers, Automobile
associated activities, Specialty Chemicals, Steel Furniture, Rubber Products,
Services in Information Technologies, Education, Biotechnology, Healthcare, etc.
Connectivity and Tourism: Air links have improved significantly following a bilateral
agreement in 2007 to progressively increase the seat capacity to six major
destinations in India and a provision for multiple destinations and designating any
number of airlines to operate on the India–Malaysia routes. At present, there are
more than 150 flights between two countries, the majority of which are operated by
Malaysian carriers. The two countries are also currently negotiating Revised Air
Services Agreement. Air Asia has set up a JV with the TATA group for operating
airlines within India as well.
India is the sixth largest source country for inbound tourism for Malaysia with more
than 6.5 lakhs Indian tourists visiting Malaysia in 2013. On the other hand, Malaysia
is the tenth largest source country for foreign tourists into India with 1.6 lakhs
Malaysians visiting India in 2013. India and Malaysia also have an MoU for
Cooperation in the Field of Tourism since 2010.
Education Cooperation: Every year, nearly 2000 Indian students come to study in
Malaysia, while nearly 1500 Malaysian student enroll themselves in Indian colleges.
Out of these, more than 95% of Malaysian students join for Medical and Dental
courses in India. India and Malaysia also have an MOU on Higher Education since
January 2010.
In addition, India offers to Malaysia about 25 slots under ITEC and 5 under the
Colombo Plan. India also offers nearly 30 scholarships for studies in graduate, postgraduate
and research programmes in universities in India.
Indian Cultural Centre (ICC): Indian Cultural Centre, Kuala Lumpur, under ICCR
was established in February 2010 and conducts classes in Carnatic Vocal, Kathak
dance, Yoga, Hindi language and Tabla by trained teachers from India and Malaysia.
ICC collaborates with various cultural institutions in Malaysia to promote Indian
culture in various parts of Malaysia. ICC also hosts a Library and an AYUSH
Information Cell to disseminate authentic information on AYUSH systems of
medicines. The Indian Cultural Centre is taking proactive steps to reach out to other
States of Malaysia as well to spread the message of Indian culture and art. Till June
2015, more than 600 students have been benefited from the classes conducted at
ICC, Kuala Lumpur.
Traditional medicine: India and Malaysia signed an MoU on cooperation in the field
of Traditional Medicine October 2010. Two bilateral technical meetings under the
MoU have been held to review the progress of our cooperation. Traditional and
Complementary Medicine (TCM) Division, Ministry of Health of Malaysia has been
working to popularize AYUSH systems in Malaysia. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and
Homeopathy systems are practiced in Malaysia.
In addition to the AYUSH Information Cell in ICC since 2010, one Ayurveda doctor
and two therapists have been deputed to Malaysia for the last 4 years. AYUSH
experts (3 Ayurveda experts and two Siddha experts so far) are also being
periodically deputed for short period to deliver lectures, consultations, conduct
seminars and periodical training to Malaysian doctors, professionals and others.
India also offers 20 scholarships for Malaysian Nationals to study Traditional
medicine in Indian Institutes/ colleges. India has also shared the entire volume of
Pharmacopoeia published by Department of AYUSH to Malaysian side so that it can
be used as reference standards for evaluating traditional Indian formulations and
indications in Herbal product registration at Malaysia.
The Indian High Commission has brought out a book on Ayurveda in English and
Bahasa Malaysia language for dissemination among Ayurveda practitioners.
Labour & Expatriates: There are over 130,000 Indian expats legally employed in
Malaysia in professional as well as skilled and semi-skilled category. A bilateral MoU
on Employment and Welfare of Workers signed in January 2009 establishes an
institutional framework to deal with issues concerning Indian workers. Three Joint
Working Group meetings at the Secretary-level have already been held. Illegal
immigration and human trafficking from India into Malaysia is a matter of concern to
both Governments and, according to Malaysian statistics, over 50,000 Indian
nationals have registered as “illegal” workers under their Amnesty Scheme in August
2011. The Indian High Commission has been taking proactive steps to ensure that
their welfare is taken care of and they are assisted to return to India.
Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs): Malaysia has one of the largest communities of
Persons of Indian Origin in the world, numbering close of 2 million (about 7 to 8% of
Malaysia’s population). The overwhelming numbers of PIOs are Tamil speaking, with
significant people speaking Telugu, Malayalam and Punjabi as well. The Malaysian
Indian Congress is the dominant political organization of the PIOs since preindependence,
and is a member of the ruling coalition since independence, but of
late several smaller splinter political organizations have emerged. There is also
significant PIO support to two Opposition Parties – the PKR and DAP, which has
more Indian community MPs in the Lower House than the Malaysian Indian
Congress.
Malaysia has been sending the largest contingent to the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
and currently there are five PBS Awardees from Malaysia, namely Dato Seri
SamyVellu, Tan Sri Somasundaram, Tan Sri Vadiveloo, Tan Sri Ajit Singh and Tan
Sri Datuk Ravindran Menon. Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, Minister of Natural Resources
and Environment of Malaysia and President of Malaysian Indian Congress was the
Chief Guest at the 12th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in New Delhi on January 7-9,
2014.
ASEAN: Malaysia assumed the Chairmanship of ASEAN in January 2015. As a
result, India-ASEAN Summit as well as East Asia Summit meeting will be held in
Malaysia in 2015.
Useful Resources:
High Commission of India, Kuala Lumpur website:
http://www.indianhighcommission.com.my/
Indian Cultural Centre High Commission of India, Kuala Lumpur website:
http://www.icckl.com.my
