CAS in Malaysia, Defence minister to visit on Sunday

New Delhi: Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari is currently on an official bilateral visit to Malaysia with an aim to expand bilateral defence ties.

The Indian Air Force said the visit of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) is aimed at discussing areas of mutual interest and cooperation with senior officials of the Malaysian armed forces.

In a tweet it said, the CAS, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, is on an official bilateral visit to Malaysia. During his visit, he will be meeting various officials of the Malaysian Armed Forces with whom he will discuss areas of mutual interest and cooperation.

Meanwhile, Defence minister Rajnath Singh will embark on an official visit to Malaysia on Sunday, June 9. During the visit, Singh will meet top leadership of the south east Asian country. A wide range of issues concerning bilateral, regional and defence industrial cooperation are likely to be discussed during the meetings.

Last year in June, the two Ministers had discussed the existing defence cooperation activities and framework, and ways to further enhance them under the existing Malaysia India Defence Cooperation Meeting (MIDCOM) framework.

India and Malaysia share an upstanding defence relations, which has gained momentum in the last few years. In 1993, India & Malaysia signed an MoU on Defence Cooperation, which is the cornerstone of defence relations between the two countries.

Malaysia is among a handful of countries showing keen interest in procuring India's indigenously developed TEJAS aircraft. TEJAS is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

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