New Delhi, Jan 4: In an effort to give further impetus to India’s Look
East policy, Defence Minister A K Antony will travel to Malaysia from
Sunday to enhance defence relation between the two country.

During the three-day visit, Antony will have bilateral discussions with
his Malaysian counterpart and the Deputy Prime Minister, Mohd Najib Bin
Tun Hajiabdul Razak and the Foreign Minister Ahmed Syed Hamid Albar.

Antony will also call on Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah bin Haji
Ahmad Badawi and will pay a visit to Penang, where he would meet
Governor Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas, a government release said.

Antony will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including
Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, his advisor Sundaram Krishna, Deputy
Chief of Army Staff Lt General ZU Shah, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air
Marshal NAK Browne, Vice Admiral KN Sushil and External Affair Ministry
Joint Secretary (South) Biren Nanda.

According to unconfirmed reports, Antony is likely to take up the issue
of Indian community living in that country with the Abdullah bin Haji
Ahmad Badawi Government.

The Defence Co-operation between the two countries was formalised by
signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 1993 and it has been
expanding steadily since then.

"The primary area of co-operation has been in training to Malaysian
Defence personnel at various levels including at the National Defence
College and Staff College. The Defence Cooperation between the two
countries is also characterised by high-level exchange of visits, visit
of ships of the two navies, India’s regular participation in Langkawi
International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition," the release
said.

In December, the Sixth Malaysia-India Defence Cooperation Meeting
(MIDCOM) was held in New Delhi when both sides had meaningful
discussions on strengthening defence co-operation as well as to explore
new areas of co-operation. Both countries also signed a Protocol on
training of Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Pilots by Indian Air Force
on SU-30 MKM aircraft.

In May, a MoU was signed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with the
Malaysian Ministry of Defence for the technical training of RMAF
personnel on SU-30 MKM aircraft.

Over the years, India and Malaysia have developed strong bilateral
relationship encompassing political, economic, education, cultural and
defence fields. (ANI)