KUALA LUMPUR: India is training Malaysian pilots to fly Russian fighter jets as part of a pact to upgrade defence cooperation, ministers from both sides said on Monday, as the two nations seek closer ties.

Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said after talks with Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak that they also agreed to hold joint military exercises and strengthen efforts to combat regional terrorism.Malaysia said it is also looking at having India help train its naval personnel to operate its two new French submarines.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Antony’s visit — part of India’s campaign to cement relations with Southeast Asian allies — did not touch on the contentious issue of a crackdown on ethnic Indian activists here.

“India wants to broaden ties and on the political side, there is no problem,” he told reporters, despite Indian premier Manmohan Singh voicing concern over heavy-handed treatment of ethnic Indian protesters.

“(Antony) did not raise the issue of ethnic Indians in Malaysia. They understand the situation better,” Syed Hamid said.

In recent years India and Malaysia have developed a strong bilateral relationship encompassing trade, education, diplomacy and defence.—AFP