I attended a truly captivating interaction session with H.E. Dr. S. Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs 🇮🇳 last night in Kuala Lumpur. 

Dr. Jaishankar spoke at length about long standing bilateral relations between Malaysia and India, and how both nations must leverage and build on this special relationship in working together moving forward. 

Of particular interest to me as highlighted by Dr. Jaishankar is the growth of governance in India driven by digital technology, which the honourable minister said has been a game-changer for country. He highlighted that the basic obligation of any government is to ensure that government aid reaches those most in need in society, and that it is not siphoned off before it reaches them. The Government of India has used digital technology to achieve this, and this is something I believe can be replicated by Malaysia. I am happy to note that Dr. Jaishankar raised this with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in their meeting yesterday.

Separately, I also raised a question to Dr. Jaishankar on India-China relations; in specific whether the both should be the best of friends. The honourable minister responded that both countries have always enjoyed good relations in commerce and have had an understanding to resolve territorial disputes peacefully. He also emphasised that his first duty to Indians, is to secure their border; hence any money being spent at the border, is money being spent for the benefit of Indians. 

I look forward to continuously enhancing our close ties with India as we move forward, particularly in the law and institutional reform sphere (where I believe there is much we can learn from India) that falls within the ambit of my deputy ministerial portfolio.