TBM Staff - Mumbai The High Commission of Malaysia organized a ‘Malaysia Carnival’ to kick off celebrations commemorating 65 years of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and India. The soirée had a number of programs to showcase the best of Malaysian cuisine, tropical fruits, culture, art & crafts, and other products. In addition, exciting lucky draws and a flash sale on unique tour packages and air tickets to Malaysia were offered by Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air and Air Asia.
The audience coming for the festival had the opportunity to savour Malaysian tropical fruits such as Durian, nicknamed ‘king of fruits’, besides feasting on local delicacies like Nasi Lemak, Chicken Satay (skewered marinated chicken), Roti John (Malaysian style omelette sandwich), Curry Puff and many more. Jazzing up the evening were live cultural performances by a dance troupe specially flown in from Malaysia.
In his welcome remarks, the High Commissioner of Malaysia to India, H.E Dato’ Hidayat Abdul Hamid, said, “For 65 years, relations between Malaysia and India have continued to develop well. The organizing of the Malaysia Carnival is hoped to foster greater ties and friendship between the two countries.” The Carnival was officiated by the Honourable Dr. Rajkumar Rajan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs of India, and attended by the ASEAN HOMs and the Diplomatic Corps among other guests.
On the economic side, trade and investment cooperation continue to be elevated. Total trade between the two countries reached USD 16.82 billion, recording a volume growth of 27.1% year on year for 2021, representing healthy relations between both countries.
The Carnival is also a part of the program to highlight the reopening of Malaysia’s borders to fully vaccinated travellers from India on 1 April 2022. India remains one of the top market sources for Malaysia and has contributed 735,309 arrivals (+22%) in 2019, while more than 332,000 Malaysians visited India during the same period reflecting a healthy tourist exchange.
The event was partnered by Tourism Malaysia, Ingress Autoventures (India) Pvt Ltd, Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities of Malaysia, PETRONAS, Federal Agricultural Marketing Agency (FAMA), Pelita Nasi Kandar and Malaysia Timber Council (MTC), and was also supported by Fortis Hospitals, Sunway Resort, Education Malaysia Global Services, Hospitality 360, Resorts World Genting, Grand Ion Delemen Hotel, Desaru Coast, DMIA Land and Royale Chulan Hotels & Resorts Malaysia.
