By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak has arrived here for a five-day official visit to India, where high-level talks are planned to harness strategic partnerships with Asia’s third largest economy.

Leading a large delegation to India, his first since taking office as prime minister in April last year, Najib is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for discussions which are expected to cover a broad range of topics from trade to security.

On a chill winter evening, India rolled out the red carpet for Najib and to accord a warm welcome to the Malaysian delegation, signifying the importance of Malaysia as an “old friend” in the region.

The private jet carrying Najib and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, plus other entourage members, landed at the Palam Air Force Station here at about 7pm Tuesday. On hand to welcome the Malaysian delegation were India’s Minister of State for Railway, E. Ahmed, and India’s High Commissioner (ambassador) designate to Malaysia, Vijay Gokhale.

On Wednesday morning, Najib will visit the Rajghat Mahatma Gandhi memorial for a wreath laying ceremony followed by a meeting with India’s External Affairs Minister, S.M. Krishna. He will later call on Indian President Pratibha Patil at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential Palace.

The main events in New Delhi will include his keynote address to the Malaysia-India Business Forum, jointly organised by the Associated Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Najib will also call on Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari and later meet ruling Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi.

The climax of Najib’s stay in New Delhi will be a meeting with Dr Manmohan Singh at Hyderabad House, where the Indian government will host a banquet for Najib. He is also slated to meet Sonia’s son, Rahul Gandhi, who is a Member of Parliament and General Secretary of the Congress party, before departing for Chennai in south India on Thursday afternoon.

Senior delegation members include Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed, Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen and Human Resources Minister Dr S. Subramaniam.

Also in the entourage are the chief ministers of Perak state Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, Pahang state Adnan Yaakob, Johor state Abdul Ghani Othman, Negeri Sembilan state Mohamad Hasan and Melaka state Mohamed Ali Rustam.

Najib arrived here from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, after concluding his official trip to the emirate. — NNN-BERNAMA

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