PM Modi, UAE Crown Prince discuss new sovereign fund L'Imad, strategic cooperation; Malaysia ties reviewed

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday discussed the role that L'Imad, the UAE's newest sovereign investment fund, could play in further widening the India-UAE partnership with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed here on the margins of the BRICS Summit. They also discussed opportunities to enhance cooperation in strategic and emerging areas, including defence, space, nuclear energy, technology and innovation.

The leaders positively noted the announcement by the UAE's International Holding Company to invest $11.5 b in the development of an integrated greenfield aluminium project in Odisha, according to an official readout.

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The two leaders reiterated the significance of the India-UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and recalled the recent successful visits by UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in January 2026 and that of Prime Minister Modi to the UAE in May 2026.

Separately, Modi held a bilateral meeting with Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit and took stock of the outcomes of Modi's visit to Malaysia in February 2026. They reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, semiconductors, infrastructure, digital economy, energy, fintech, education, tourism and people-to-people ties.

Malaysia is among the BRICS partner countries.

Ibrahim conveyed Malaysia's concurrence to the establishment of the Consulate General of India in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

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"Our discussion focused on efforts to expand cooperation in strategic sectors, particularly the semiconductor industry. Malaysia and India possess complementary strengths that can be harnessed through industrial collaboration, supply chain integration, talent development, and two-way investments. I also raised the need to facilitate and accelerate the entry of Malaysian export goods into the Indian market to open up greater opportunities for Malaysian companies to tap into India's vast and rapidly growing market potential," Ibrahim tweeted following his meeting with Modi.

It may be pointed out that India and Malaysia are establishing a multi-layered arrangement to collaborate in the semiconductor sector.