EAM Jaishankar sees tech, trade booster for Malaysia ties

| Aradhana Takhtani | TNN | Mar 29, 2024, 03:01 IST

External affairs minister S Jaishankar praised Malaysian Indians ... Read More

KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign minister S Jaishankar described Malaysian Indians as a strong "living bridge" and Malaysia as a "reliable partner preparing for an era of closer relations", conveying New Delhi's most emphatic affirmation yet of the winds of change setting in between the two countries as he announced a road map of sorts for the next decade of engagement. Jaishankar was in Malaysia on the last leg of a three-nation tour of South East Asia, meeting PM Anwar Ibrahim and foreign minister Mohamad Hasan, among others.

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Addressing a diaspora of industry leaders, politicians, scholars, trade associations and CEOs in Kuala Lumpur, Jaishankar said the two countries were "now poised to take the ties to a higher level" and stressed the need to "reimagine this relationship".

"Next year, we enter the second decade of our Enhanced Strategic Partnership launched in 2015, with our trade growing annually at $20 billion, where in a range of domains today our govts and societies interact very closely. We have to now think about practical steps which would realise the sense of closeness that is so strong in both countries," Jaishankar said.

In talks with Ibrahim and Hasan, Jaishankar touched upon new sectors of growth, namely semiconductors, green energy and digital ecosystem, areas where India has made huge advances.

The two sides also discussed providing each other better market access, improving mobility and air connectivity, as well as increasing investments. "All of this is buttressed by the foundations of trust and reliability. Malaysia has been a strong support and voice in our efforts for upholding the Global South," Jaishankar said.

Replying to a question from TOI on what would bring greater momentum to bilateral relations and India-Asean trade as Malaysia takes the chair at the trade bloc, Jaishankar said: "Embracing, leveraging new industries, sunrise industries, and building on each other's strengths will unlock new possibilities in our ties."

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Yoga N Mani

277 days ago

Reuters has reported on the Bridge collapse on 28 March “They came to the United States for a chance at a better life. They found work filling pot holes on a bridge in the middle of the night, and they ended up dead in the Baltimore harbor. The six victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse were all immigrants from Mexico and Central America, doing the kind of grueling work that many immigrants take on, when a container ship crashed into a support pillar at 1:30 a.m. EST on Tuesday and sent them plunging into the icy Patapsco River. "One of the reasons Latinos were involved in this accident is because Latinos DO THE WORK THAT OTHERS DO NOT NOT WANT TO DO. We have to do it, because we come here for a better life. WE DO NOT COME TO INVADE THE COUNTRY. Hispanic workers are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to die on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with CONSTRUCTION being a particularly DEADLY industry. Government and industry figures show that Hispanics are OVER-REPRESENTED IN HIGH-RISK JOBS : 51% of construction workers, 34% of slaughterhouse workers and 61% of landscaping workers. Community leaders said many Hispanics in the city take low-“Many don’t value our Hispanic community. They see us as animals or think that we live off the government. But that is not true, we pay our taxes too," he said. The first killing of an Indian in US I read about was that of Patel , a migrant worker from Gujarat who was at work in a Petrol station in New Jersey in a crime-prone area.He was shot late at night and the day’s cash was robbed. It happened early in the 1980. Then , as now with Hispanics, the explanation was that INDIANS DO THE WORK THAT OTHERS DO NOT WANT TO DO. However Patel appeared to be an unfortunate exception because in the 1980s Indians came to US LEGALLY and for that reason, they worked at safe jobs as Taxi Drivers and Waiters at Hotels. My friend went to US in 1982, worked as waiter and then as Steward and ended up owning three Restarants. About four years ago a laudatory report was published on a woman from Punjab who organised New York’s Indian Taxi Drivers and made them fight for better conditions, It is only in the last six years that Indians go to US illegally and for that reason DO THE WORK THAT OTHERS DO NOT WANT TO DO. Like Latino’s, they expose themselves to violent death. Such deaths at least have the comfort of self-inflicted deaths. The recent Goodwill initiative of our large -hearted government to lend or gift Indians to Israel and Taiwan does not have the comfort of death by choice. The Indians whom Government sends are Lambs to the Slaughter house. Six lambs have been slaughtered in Israel so far.

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