India, Malaysia to hold strategic dialogue this week

New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) The Third India-Malaysia Strategic Dialogue will be held here this week to nurture the growing convergence of the two nations' regional and global interests.

The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) is organising the dialogue with the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS), Malaysia, on April 12-13 at Sapru House.

The dialogue is envisioned to be a platform to nurture the growing convergence of the two nations' global and regional interests and aspirations and take the bilateral relationship to another level, a statement from ICWA said.

Bilateral relations between India and Malaysia have grown considerably over the last few years with both signing the framework agreement for strategic partnership in October 2010 during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Malaysia.

The bilateral relationship was further consolidated and integrated with the signing of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in July 2011. India and Malaysia are committed to the development of a stable and peaceful Asia-Pacific region and recognise the role of ASEAN in regional cooperation, it said.

The Third ICWA-ISIS India-Malaysia Strategic Dialogue will be divided into five sessions covering economics, defence, the role of multilateral institutions and the role of people-to-people contact and the diaspora in fostering bilateral relations.

The Malaysian delegation will be led by Mahani Zainal Abidin, chief executive of ISIS. Sanjay Singh, secretary (east), ministry of external affairs, will deliver the keynote address. The dialogue will have participation from policy makers, academic community, strategic experts and journalists.