Malaysian PM to begin three-day state visit to India today

New Delhi, Aug 19 : Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar bin Ibrahim will begin his three-day 'State Visit' to India on Monday.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said that Anwar Ibrahim will pay a state visit to India from August 19 to 21 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.

As Prime Minister of Malaysia, this will be his first visit to India, the MEA said.

According to MEA, the Malaysian Prime Minister on Tuesday will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan and will visit Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, after which he will hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Modi, who will also host a luncheon in his honour.

Later in the day, Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar would also call on the Malaysian Prime Minister during his visit.

"India and Malaysia have strong historical and socio-cultural linkages. Our bilateral relationship was elevated to the status of Enhanced Strategic Partnership in 2015 during the visit of Prime Minister Modi," the MEA said.

"As both countries enter the second decade of Enhanced Strategic Partnership next year, the visit of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would pave the way for further strengthening of India-Malaysia bilateral ties by charting out a multi-sectoral cooperation agenda for the future," it added.

Earlier in July, Malaysia's Plantations and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani visited India.

Ghani, who visited India from July 16-19, met Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at Krishi Bhawan and discussed opportunities to deepen the bilateral agriculture cooperation between the two countries.