MALAYSIA and India are committed to working together in the field of technology, cyberwarfare, anti-terrorism and poverty eradication.

Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said both countries also agreed on the setting up of a task force to look at these issues following her 30-minute meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made a brief stop in Malaysia yesterday.

“I think the task force is a good idea. We are facing regional threats, such as cyberwarfare and terrorism that undermine our country’s security.

“I think the way forward is to work together to beef up our artificial intelligence and defence systems,” she said in a statement tonight.

During the meeting at the Bunga Raya Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Dr Wan Azizah was accompanied by her husband, Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PKR de facto leader.

Meanwhile, Modi, said the task force would, among others, be responsible for identifyig areas in which both countries could work together and set out targets and deadlines.

Modi also pointed out that terrorists today were well connected, with their own support systems and global networks, perhaps with better connectivity compared to the ordinary people, making them the biggest threat to humanity.

Modi also praised Dr Wan Azizah for her courage in the struggle to topple the previous government. “There would be very few people in the world who could have shouldered the responsibility the way you have, and your name and contribution will be enshrined in the history of this country,” he said.

“You have no interest in politics and yet you took it upon yourself as a sense of duty and you have done it very well, I think it is great,” he added. Modi, who made a brief stopover in Malaysia to personally extend his best wishes and congratulations to Dr Mahathir Mohamad for Pakatan Harapan’s victory in the 14th general election and his appointment as the seventh prime minister of Malaysia.

This is the first meeting between the two leaders. Modi’s last visit to Malaysia was on November 23, 2015. – Bernama, June 2, 2018.