India is eyeing major defence collaboration with Malaysia during PM Modi’s upcoming visit, including the sale of Dornier aircraft and maintenance of Scorpene submarines and SU-30 jets, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday.
India Eyes Major Defence Deals
India is looking at opportunities for collaboration across defence sector during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Malaysia, with the sale of Dornier aircraft, maintenance of Scorpene submarines and SU-30 aircraft, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
Speaking here in the national capital ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Malaysia on February 7-8, Secretary (East) P Kumaran outlined several areas in defence cooperation. He said, “There is a lot of promise as far as defence cooperation is concerned. We are looking at sale of Dornier aircraft. Malaysia also has Scorpene submarines. They are looking at opportunities to try and collaborate, especially in terms of midlife upgrades, retrofitting”.
Responding to a media query, he noted that India and Malaysia both have the SU-30 aircraft and added, “We have offered proposals for modification, upgradation and midlife maintenance.” Secretary (East) also hinted towards a possible supply of naval platforms by Indian shipyards and hoped for developments on the fronts. “We are also looking at potential for supply of naval platforms by Indian shipyards. So, those are all areas that look promising. We hope to be able to get something going on these areas”, P Kumaran said at the special media briefing.
Strengthening Strategic Partnership
India-Malaysia defence relations have steadily grown over the years. In a previous bilateral brief, the MEA had noted how the MoU on Defence Cooperation signed in 1993 is the cornerstone of defence relations between the two countries which allows for widening the scope of existing bilateral cooperation to include joint ventures, joint development projects, procurement, logistic and maintenance support and training.
On the upcoming visit of PM Modi, Kumaran further noted that the forthcoming visit comes within one and a half years of elevation of our bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the state visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to India in August 2024, and reflects India’s strong commitment to our relations with Malaysia, a key partner in India’s Act East Policy, Vision MAHASAGAR, and also the Indo-Pacific vision. He added, “The visit will also provide an opportunity to enhance our engagement with the ASEAN region, given the important role of Malaysia as its founding member, and its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025. PM will hold bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister of Malaysia. They will review progress under the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, especially in priority areas of cooperation such as trade, investments, defence, security, semiconductors, digital technologies, renewable energy, education, healthcare, and people-to-people exchanges.”
Potential MoUs and Collaborations
On the MoUs, he said, “We are looking at MoUs as of now, this is still a list that is not fully baked. So, let me just try and list it out on the understanding that this is subject to confirmation as we get closer to the visit. We are looking at MoUs in the field of disaster management, audio-visual co-production, standards on training, certification and watch keeping for seafarers. An MOU on UN peacekeeping cooperation that is to be renewed. We are looking at an MoU or probably an exchange of notes conveying intention to cooperate in the semiconductor industry. MoUs for anti-corruption cooperation, MOU between audit institutions on both sides, the National Security Council Secretariats cooperation and health care and technical and vocational training. So those are the areas that we are looking at.”
Focus on Semiconductor Ecosystem
Answering a query on cooperation in the area of semiconductors, Kumaran added, “Semiconductors, as you know, Malaysia has a very strong semiconductor ecosystem. Something like 30% of their exports relate to semiconductor and allied products. So, they have a really strong performance over many years in the area of semiconductors. They have almost 30-40 years experience in those areas. So, we are in the process of establishing a multi-layered collaboration arrangement through a G2G MoU, semiconductor industry-led collaborations and also R&D, both in terms of setting up fabrication centers, also assembly testing centers etc. Our companies are also interested in collaborating with Malaysia.”
Context of PM Modi’s Visit
PM Modi will visit Kuala Lumpur on February 7-8 at the invitation of his Malaysian counterpart, PM Anwar Ibrahim. He had earlier visited Malaysia in 2015. Kumaran said, “During that visit, India-Malaysia bilateral relations were elevated to enhance the strategic partnership… The forthcoming visit comes within 1.5 years of the elevation of our bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the state visit to PM Amwar Ibrahim in August 2024, and reflects India’s strong commitment to our relations with Malaysia”. (ANI)
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