Anwar also said he appreciated his long-standing friendship with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, adding that the latter is very sincere.

“Modi is not just a notable prime minister, but he is also my brother.

“He has been very kind and sincere, not only when I became prime minister, but also when I was just a nobody. This friendship is meaningful to me, my delegation, and our country,” he said at a joint press conference with Modi in New Delhi.

Anwar is currently in India on a three-day visit. He described the visit as being “very important, both personally and on behalf of the Malaysian government”.

“Malaysia and India will emerge as two strong brotherly nations.”

Anwar, however, admitted that the relationship between Malaysia and India had not been actively pursued in recent years.

He said despite a strong foundation dating back to the days of Jawaharlal Nehru and Tunku Abdul Rahman – the two nations’ first prime ministers – more could have been done to strengthen ties.

“It is unfortunate that in the last many years, our relations have not been truly forthcoming.”

Anwar went on to say that India and Malaysia shared many similarities, including being multicultural and multireligious.

“We need to strengthen these bonds further.”

Anwar also called for the two countries to work more closely in areas like digitalisation, energy transition, food security and the semiconductor industry.

Anwar said he and Modi had set a timeframe for results.

“Knowing Modi’s style of work, he doesn’t tolerate long delays, so we have set a timeframe of three months for our staff to take action and report on the progress,” he said.

India remains a key trading partner for Malaysia, especially for palm oil and palm oil products. Last year, this totalled 3.3 million tonnes, valued at US$3 billion (RM14 billion), or 13% of Malaysia’s total palm oil exports.