Malaysian Defence Minister begins visit

New Delhi, June 6 (UNI) Consolidation and strengthening of military-to-military ties between India and Malaysia will come up for discussion during the visit here of Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Dato Sri Mohammad Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak who arrived today.

Dato Abdul Razak -- here along with a high-powered delegation at the invitation of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee -- will hold discusions on boosting bilateral defence cooperation with his Indian counterpart and meet the three Indian Service Chiefs at South Block tomorrow.

During his weeklong stay in India, Dato Abdul Razak will also tour Mumbai, Nasik and Bangalore visiting important defence establishments like Bharat Electronics Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Indian Space Research Organisation.

According to an official spokesman, during bilateral talks the two Defence Ministers will discuss all areas of defence cooperation between India and Malaysia as also ways to improve bilateral relations which embrace all aspects namely political, economic, defence and cultural.

Indo-Malaysian cooperation in the field of defence was formalised by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation between the two countries in 1993. The primary areas of cooperation so far have been in the field training exchanges, visits between officers of their respective Armed Forces and visits of naval ships to each other's ports.

India has been a regular participant in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition held in Malaysia which has also participated in the DefExpo in New Delhi.

The Indian defence production network, which has become highly sophisticated in recent times, is all geared up to play a greater role in Malaysia's requirements for its defence modernisation programmes, observed the spokesman.

UNI DG MSJ PC1851