Modi called off his Malaysia visit in October as he didn’t want to face Trump: Congress
NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday embarked on a two-day visit to Malaysia, aiming to significantly scale up India’s comprehensive strategic partnership with the Southeast Asian nation.
In his departure statement, the prime minister signalled that the visit would focus on a major push for deeper defence cooperation and robust economic engagement between the two countries.
Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday, which are expected to produce a number of agreements to further expand cooperation between the two nations.
“The historic ties between India and Malaysia have seen steadfast progress in recent years. I look forward to my discussions with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and further enhancing our comprehensive strategic partnership,” Modi said.
“We will aim to deepen our defence and security ties, enhance our economic and innovation partnership, and expand our collaboration into new domains,” he added.
CONGRESS ATTACKS MODI
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day trip to Malaysia began on Saturday, the Congress claimed that he had called off his last visit to Kuala Lumpur in October as he did not want to be face-to-face with US President Donald Trump.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said as the prime minister meets his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, it is worth recalling the latter’s words while paying tributes to former prime minister Manmohan Singh on December 27, 2024.
“In late October 2025, the Prime Minister was expected to visit Kuala Lumpur. It had been announced but at the last minute Mr Modi called it off because he did not want to come face-to-face with President Trump who was also to be there at the same time. So Mr Modi settled for a virtual summit meeting with ASEAN leaders.
“Now the Prime Minister is off to Kuala Lumpur to see another good friend of his — the Prime Minister of Malaysia. It is worth recalling what Mr Anwar Ibrahim had said in his tribute to Dr Manmohan Singh on Dec 27, 2024,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
