Rajnath holds talks with Malaysian counterpart; focus on boosting industrial cooperation

New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held wide-ranging talks with his Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Hasan with a focus on expanding overall defence and strategic partnership in line with trust and shared values of democracy and rule of law.

Singh, who is currently on a three-day visit to Malaysia, also called on Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim and conveyed to him PM Narendra Modi’s warm greetings.

The talks between the two defence ministers were primarily focused on ways to strengthen industrial cooperation.

Singh and Hasan approved an amendment in the memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation between India and Malaysia signed in 1993.

The defence ministry said that the amendment will act as an enabler to expand bilateral defence cooperation in the areas of mutual interest.

“Both sides discussed initiatives to further expand bilateral defence ties, with particular focus on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation,” the defence ministry said in a statement here.

“They reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the enhanced strategic partnership based on mutual trust and understanding, common interests and shared values of democracy and rule of law,” it said.

In the talks, Singh highlighted the potential of the Indian defence industry with capacity and capability to cooperate with Malaysian armed forces in its inventory modernisation and maintenance plans.

Malaysia is among a handful of countries showing keen interest in procuring India’s indigenously developed Tejas aircraft.

Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

Separately, Singh also held talks with Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir during which they exchanged views on matters of bilateral importance and cooperation in international fora.

“India’s recognition of ASEAN centrality and importance of peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region were discussed,” the ministry said.

“The meeting concluded with India’s assurance to partner Malaysia in its efforts to accelerate self-reliance of the Malaysian defence industry,” it said.