Indian PM calls on Dr Mahathir

PUTRAJAYA: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad here on Thursday (May 31).

He arrived at Perdana Putra at 11.35am and was greeted upon arrival by Dr Mahathir.

Modi had made a brief stopover in Malaysia to personally extend his best wishes and congratulations to Dr Mahathir on Pakatan Harapan's victory in the 14th General Election and his appointment as the Prime Minister.

This is the first meeting between the two leaders. Modi last visited Malaysia on Nov 23, 2015.

Modi is also scheduled to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Wisma Putra said in a statement on Tuesday (May 29) that the meeting between the leaders of the two countries underlined the fundamental strength of the millennia-old relations between Malaysia and India.

It said the visit also demonstrated the strong commitment of the two countries to further strengthen the strategic partnership.

Malaysia and India enjoy close relations through cultural and historical linkages as well as in various key areas, particularly infrastructure development, education, tourism and defence.

India is Malaysia's largest trading partner in South Asia, with total trade amounting to RM61.43bil in 2017.

Modi has visited Indonesia and is scheduled to visit Singapore. - Bernama