PM Modi Has Announced That India Will Integrate UPI With Malaysia’s PayNet

Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Aug 22, 2024 — 3 min read

PM Modi Has Announced That India Will Integrate UPI With Malaysia’s PayNet

After a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in New Delhi on August 20, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India announced intentions to link the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with PayNet.

Modi announced the partnership at a joint news conference, where he also highlighted plans to connect the UPI and PayNet systems in India and Malaysia, respectively. The goal of this integration is to increase UPI's global presence and strengthen financial connection. In an effort to expand its quick payment network globally, India has launched UPI in a number of countries, including Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, France, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka.

The efforts of the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India to expand UPI's global reach were further underlined by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.

Strengthening the Ties Between the Two Nations

Both Modi and Anwar Ibrahim had a fruitful discussion at Hyderabad House, which led to the statement being made about collaborating on the payment gateway. The two heads of state talked on a variety of issues, including the strengthening of bilateral ties and the cooperation between regional organisations. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, reaffirmed India's dedication to the centrality of ASEAN. He also expressed his support for Malaysia's chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025 and the timely review of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and ASEAN.

In addition to this, Modi highlighted efforts to improve educational and training possibilities for Malaysian students who are participating in Indian programs. There will be one hundred spots available for Malaysians to apply for scholarships under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. These seats will be available in advanced disciplines such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. Not only did Modi announce the establishment of a Thiruvalluvar Chair at a Malaysian university, but he also announced the establishment of an Ayurveda Chair at the University of Tumko Abdul Rahman in Malaysia.

Enhancing Trade Through Mutual Agreement

A number of potential areas of collaboration were named by Modi, including semiconductors, financial technology, the military industry, and artificial intelligence. He also mentioned that Malaysia had made an investment of $5 billion in India over the course of the previous year.

In his statement, Anwar stated that his nation would revitalise its connections with India in every aspect, and that the potential of these relations had not been fully realised over the past few years.

At a press conference, an official from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs named Jaideep Mazumdar announced that the country will issue a one-time export of 200,000 metric tonnes of non-basmati rice to Malaysia. This would be an exception to the embargo that prohibits such shipments.

According to Mazumdar, India is also interested in selling Malaysia aircraft built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., as well as other types of military equipment.

Additionally, the two nations reached an agreement on a framework for the welfare of Indian workers who are going to be employed in Malaysia. Malaysia is a country that obtains labour from approximately 15 countries, including India, for its palm farms and other sectors.