KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — India is banking on Malaysia’s prominence as the 2025 Asean chair to make Kuala Lumpur its hub and spoke to carve out a dominant slice of the South-east Asian market.

This is because, like Malaysia, India is pursuing a Look East Policy, but its target is not Japan, but rather South-east Asia’s lucrative consumer base of more than 670 million people.

Ties with Malaysia therefore seem to be a perfect fit to facilitate India’s foray into the region’s 10 bustling economies.

Asean members are themselves on the lookout for trading partners and investors to beef up business opportunities as they shrug off the after-effects of the crippling business conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago.

Given these circumstances, both countries stand to gain significant benefits through promising synergies.

One important aspect to consider is that India will be the world’s third-largest economy by 2027. It is currently the world’s most populated country with an estimated 1.45 billion people.

Building on that relationship is therefore pertinent, more so as Malaysia doubles its efforts to raise trade and investment linkages globally.

No less important is India’s full support for Malaysia’s application to join BRICS, an intergovernmental organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, either as a full member or as a strategic partner country.

India has clearly stated that "Malaysia is a very important partner, a close neighbour and can bring significant value to any partnership.”

This explains why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi declared their intention to elevate bilateral cooperation when they met last month in New Delhi.

Following the meeting, Malaysia-India ties have henceforth been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) from an Enhanced Strategic Partnership (ESP).

This shift from an ESP to a CSP is crucial, especially for private sector companies aiming to accelerate project implementation

There is evidently a lot going for Malaysia and India on the economic front.

Bilateral trade is booming, touching US$20 billion, with Malaysia being India’s third largest trading partner in Asean.

Fintech start-ups, cross-border payments systems and Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based systems are the new drivers of their mutual engagement.

Following Anwar’s three-day visit to India from August 19-21, during which 12 MoUs were signed, he and his Indian counterpart directed their ministers to provide a progress report within three months.

Diplomacy aside, that entails the respective ministries, agencies, relevant officials and the private sector working hard to achieve tangible results and not let these MOUs fizzle off.

The reports must therefore contain measurable outcomes that lend credence to elevating Malaysia-India ties to a CSP.

The CSP has undoubtedly taken root with extensive discussions on trade and commerce, defence and security, healthcare, digital technologies, semiconductors, renewable energy, green hydrogen as well as sustainable development.

Socio-economic and political commentator Datuk T. Kumararajah notes that while CSP and ESP may seem like mere terminologies, they represent a significant shift in the depth and scope of the bilateral relationship.

This shift is already taking shape with Indian firm Immerso AI-IP — part of the Eros Investments Group — announcing a RM1 billion investment to establish Malaysia’s first artificial intelligence (AI) park and AI movie studio.

This initiative will create over 5,000 jobs over the next three years and include the development of an AI university and AI data centre.

New areas of business cooperation also include defence, where Indian engineers are already servicing parts of the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (RMAF) Russian-made Sukhoi jet engines.

Matching Malaysia’s IT hardware with India’s software expertise

Malaysia’s focus on computer hardware, hard-wired by the establishment of the Multimedia Super Corridor more than 20 years ago, could complement India’s revolutionary software forte.

The semiconductor industry is an area where both nations can merge their best strengths, according to Kumararajah.

He noted that Malaysia has carved out a unique niche in semiconductor manufacturing but lacks expertise in design, an area where Indian software experts can play a crucial role in advancing design and development.

On its own, India could take 30 to 40 years to reach the level of Malaysia’s manufacturing expertise, but by combining Malaysia’s prowess with its design capabilities, India can leapfrog into advanced areas such as integrated design.

Boosting tourism and air connectivity

This year, one million Indian tourists are expected to visit Malaysia, while 200,000 Malaysians are expected to visit India, facilitated by mutual visa-free regimes offered by both countries.

To further boost tourism, transport ministry officials have initiated talks to increase the number of flights between the two nations, which currently stands at 220 flights per week.

Like all relationships, it takes two to tango.

Malaysia and India must work diligently to enhance their long-standing socio-cultural and economic ties across multiple sectors.

They must not allow obstacles to hinder their efforts to achieve better economic relations under the CSP, and remain steadfast in their pursuit of mutual prosperity for their nations and the people. — Bernama