Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his newly elected Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday, beginning the second leg of his five-day tour of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. “The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on strengthening our strategic partnership,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. “Malaysia is a strategic partner and a priority country in our Act East Policy.” The two leaders discussed ways to boost economic and cultural relations between the two countries, PTI reported. Modi is among the first leaders to meet Mohamad, who became the world’s oldest elected leader earlier this month. Glad to have met Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I thank him for the warm welcome. We had productive discussions on further cementing India-Malaysia ties. @chedetofficial pic.twitter.com/o8n7aMMS7e — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 31, 2018 Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Wan Azizah called on PM @narendramodi during PM's brief stop over in Kuala Lumpur. Good discussion took place to take our relationship to newer heights. Former DPM Anwar Ibrahim was also present. pic.twitter.com/2wssbFOf3i — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 31, 2018 PM @narendramodi met Malaysian PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Kuala Lumpur. The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on strengthening our strategic partnership. PM congratulated Dr. Mahathir on assuming the post of Prime Minister of Malaysia. @chedetofficial @hcikl pic.twitter.com/Y1YjZWSqDL — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 31, 2018 After a brief stopover, Modi left for Singapore. He is expected to deliver a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security summit, on Friday. At a business event in Singapore, Modi launched three Indian mobile payment apps – RuPay, BHIM and State Bank of India. The Indian prime minister met Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on Wednesday. The two leaders signed 15 memoranda of understanding in fields such as defence, scientific and technological cooperation, railways and health. Modi also visited the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery and the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. In an address to the Indian diaspora, Modi announced 30-day free visas for Indonesian citizens and invited Indians expatriates to visit their country of origin to experience the “New India”.<doc-sep>After a brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur, PM @narendramodi departs for Singapore. He was seen off at the airport by M… https://t.co/lQoApWCkCb — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) 1527751187000 KUALA LUMPUR: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi left to deliver the keynote address at a high-powered security summit in Singapore following his meeting with the senior-most political leader of Asean, Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia , sources here hinted at a very significant outcome culminating in the Shangri-La Dialogue, the last leg of Modi’s south-east Asia tour.Modi is expected to make a big announcement on the Regional Security Architecture, officials and experts in the know of Asean matters said.Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are all three key strategic partners for India and the signal that is coming through, specially after the high-yielding bilateral agreements with Indonesia, is that India is keen to engage with each of these countries, while keeping the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) centrality intact.The focus this time is clearly on defence, maritime security and strategic access to ports. Indonesia has already agreed to provide India access to the strategic island of Sabang, close to the Malacca Straits. And the safety and security of sea lanes in the Indo Pacific region has been a recurring theme in PM Modi’s parleys with all Asean counterparts.Earlier visits of the PM during Asean summits and presence at ministerial level discussions, put in place the mechanism for all 10 Asean leaders to gather at India’s Republic Day celebrations, thereby signaling India’s position as a stakeholder in the region. This visit takes it up a notch further.In his discussions with Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad, while giving a personal touch to his congratulatory call, Modi talked defence and trade, besides cyber security. He also focused on enhancing the India Malaysia historical and cultural ties which have recently drawn in the local Malay population too towards yoga and holistic and ancient health systems like ayurveda.“Glad to have met Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I thank him for the warm welcome. We had productive discussions on further cementing India-Malaysia ties,” Modi tweeted in Malay.MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Malaysia was a strategic partner and a priority country in India's Act East Policy.Talking to TOI, Indian High Commissioner Mridul Kumar said, “Defence is emerging as a key element in our partnership with Malaysia and for the past few months there has been a spurt in the defence-related engagement with Malaysia. After a long gap, India and Malaysia will be holding the Malaysia India Defence Cooperation Committee Meeting, in July this year.”PM Modi and Mahathir Mohamad spent over an hour discussing issues of mutual interest.Later, PM also met Malaysia’s newly-elected Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her spouse Anwar Ibrahim, who both then saw PM off at the airport.“Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Wan Azizah called on PM @narendramodi during PM’s brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Good discussion took place to take our relationship to newer heights. Former DPM Anwar Ibrahim was also present,” Kumar tweeted.<doc-sep>
Glad to have met Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I thank him for the warm welcome. We had productive discussions on furth… https://t.co/4l5PU4FwWw — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 1527741336000 KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met his newly-elected Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohammad and the two leaders had a productive exchange of views on strengthening the strategic partnership.Modi, who arrived here today on the second leg of his three-nation tour, met 92-year-old Mahathir in his office at Perdana Putra Complex, Putrajaya. "Glad to have met Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. I thank him for the warm welcome. We had productive discussions on further cementing India-Malaysia ties," Modi tweeted in both Malay and English.The two leaders discussed ways to boost economic and cultural relations between India and Malaysia .Modi is among the first world leaders to meet Mahathir, who became the world's oldest elected leader when his opposition alliance registered a stunning victory over the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which had ruled Malaysia since 1957. Mahathir was sworn in as Malaysia's prime minister on May 10.This is the first meeting between the two leaders. Modi last visited Malaysia in November 2015.External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the two leaders had a productive exchange of views on strengthening the strategic partnership.Prime Minister Modi congratulated Dr. Mahathir on assuming the post of Prime Minister of Malaysia, he added.During his brief stopover, Modi also met with Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband Anwar Ibrahim. "Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Wan Azizah called on PM @narendramodi during PM's brief stopover in Kuala Lumpur . Good discussion took place to take our relationship to newer heights. Former DPM Anwar Ibrahim was also present," Kumar tweeted.Malaysia and India have close ties with culture and history as well as in various key areas, particularly infrastructure development, education, tourism and defense.India is Malaysia's largest trading partner in South Asia with total turnover of RM 61.43 billion (USD 15.44 billion) in 2017.Earlier, the Prime Minister's Office said that Modi will be discussing aspects relating to India-Malaysia cooperation with Mahathir. "Malaysia is a strategic partner and a priority country in our Act East Policy," Kumar said.Modi had announced in New Delhi that on his way to Singapore, he will make a brief halt in Malaysia to meet Mahathir and congratulate the new Malaysian leadership.After concluding his whirlwind trip, Modi left for Singapore where he will deliver a keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security meet, tomorrow.