KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Malaysia and India reaffirmed commitments to further enhance defence cooperation, particularly in military-to-military cooperation and defence science, technology and industry.
This was achieved during the meeting between Malaysian Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and his visiting counterpart from India, Shri Rajnath Singh at the Ministry of Defence, Jalan Padang Tembak, here today.
Shri Rajnath Singh arrived here yesterday for a four-day introductory visit to Malaysia.
According to the joint statement issued after the meeting, both leaders acknowledged and agreed to strengthen defence cooperation between Malaysia and India with the signing of the Exchange of Letter (EoL) to amend the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation between the Government of Malaysia and the Government of India which was signed in 1993.
“The signing of the EoL will facilitate more bilateral activities between all three military services in the future,” it said.
Both leaders also agreed to explore more collaboration between Malaysia and India in the interoperability of the two militaries in all three domains; land, sea, and air in the near future. The commonality of the defence assets between the two countries will elevate the cooperation, particularly in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
“They also agreed to establish the SU-30 Forum and the Strategic Affairs Working Group to elevate the cooperation between the two ministries where senior officials and military personnel from both ministries will further engage to discuss matters related to defence using these platforms,” the statement said.
The official visit to Malaysia by the Indian Defence Minister reflected the importance of strong international defence relations as prescribed by the Third Pillar of the National Defence Strategy, which is on Credible Partnerships, as outlined by Malaysia’s Defence White Paper (DWP).
