Relationship dossier
India
Malaysia
Relationship assessment
Broad India–Malaysia partnership, with sustained trade and defense cooperation alongside periodic political and trade friction
India toward Malaysia
+35India has pursued economic cooperation with Malaysia through the 2011 Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and maintained defense engagement, including joint military exercises. In 2024, the two governments upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and announced further cooperation. India has also restricted Malaysian palm oil imports amid political friction over Malaysian statements on Kashmir.
Malaysia toward India
+35Malaysia has engaged India through the 2011 Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, defense exchanges and joint military exercises. In 2024, the Malaysian government agreed with India to elevate bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and pursue additional cooperation. Malaysian criticism of Indian actions in Kashmir has at times contributed to political tensions.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship has a durable institutional and economic foundation, reinforced by defense cooperation and the 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership upgrade. Trade and political disagreements, particularly around palm oil and Kashmir, have periodically complicated ties without defining the overall relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
India and Malaysia maintain a broad partnership covering trade, defense and technology, formalized through the 2015 upgrade to a strategic partnership and the 2024 upgrade to a comprehensive strategic partnership. The 2011 Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and recurring military exercises provide durable cooperation. Relations have also seen friction over Indian policy affecting palm oil imports and Malaysian criticism of Indian actions in Kashmir.
Areas of tension
- India's restrictions on Malaysian palm oil imports following political friction over Malaysian comments on Kashmir
- Malaysian criticism of Indian actions in Kashmir
Key developments
India and Malaysia signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, providing a framework for bilateral economic cooperation.
The two countries upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership.
India and Malaysia upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and announced expanded cooperation.
Major uncertainties
- The implementation and scope of cooperation agreements announced during the 2024 partnership upgrade are unclear.
- The extent to which earlier disputes over palm oil trade and Kashmir continue to affect government policy is uncertain.