Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo is currently in India for the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention that is held to recognise the contributions of the overseas Indian community to Indiaโs development. PBD falls on January 9th, to commemorate Mahatma Ghandiโs return to India from South Africa in 1915 ๐ฒ๐พ๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ
Among the objectives of this yearโs visit is to kickstart the Malaysia-India Digital Council (MIDC), which will serve as a catalyst to increase bilateral digital trade, exchange of technology, and increase mobility of required tech talents between Malaysia and India, engaging with youths from various parts of the world who are crucial to advancing the nation through national digitalisation agenda, and to strengthen the bilateral relationship between both countries ๐ฒ๐พ๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ
As of August 2024, both countries have signed seven Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) on digital collaborations that have resulted in an addition of 1,943 jobs in 2024 while 214 Indian-origin companies were granted Malaysian Digital (MD) status, in which a number of these companies stated their commitment to hire over 70% of Malaysian employees ๐ฒ๐พ๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ
“The bilateral relationship between the two countries has been strong for a very, very long time. We share a lot in terms of culture, in terms of even religion. There’s so much history between the two countries, and I think that was a starting point that has built up over the years and strengthened even more. I think there’s only more that both countries can do together moving ahead, particularly in this new world of technology. As the world becomes bigger, we become closer because of the platforms that we have.” said Gobind ๐ฒ๐พ๐ค๐ฎ๐ณ
