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Straits Times (31 May 2018)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya on Thursday (May 31).

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

Mr Modi 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 Dr Mahathir's appointment as prime minister.

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

The Indian Prime Minister also met Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto leader of Pakatan Harapan, at the Bunga Raya Complex at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

After the meeting that lasted about 30 minutes, they posed for a photograph with several staff members of the Indian High Commission in Malaysia.

Malaysia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday 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 their strategic partnership.

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

India is Malaysia's largest trading partner in South Asia, with total trade amounting to RM61.43 billion (S$20.6 billion) in 2017.

Mr Modi begins a three-day official visit to Singapore on Thursday.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indian-pm-narendra-modi-meets-malaysian-leaders