Thursday, January 20 2005 21:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kuala Lumpur: India and Malaysia today (Jan 20, 2005) underlined the immediate need to leverage their respective strengths in the Information Technology sector with New Delhi declaring that the two countries were "natural partners" in this area.

"We have our respective strengths. We are natural partners. One is strong in software and the other is strong in hardware," visiting IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran told Malaysia's Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik herin in Kuala Lumpur.

Maran, who is here on his way back from Tokyo where Japan and India planned to boost cooperation on developing next-generation telecommunications networks, and Yaik stressed that two countries should cooperate jointly in the IT sector.

The two Ministers exchanged views on the modalities to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the Information Technology sector.

Malaysia, which is strong in the hardware sector, has been keen to seek India's cooperation in the software area.

On visa related problems, faced by software professionals from India visiting Malaysia, Yaik assured New Delhi that the Malaysian Premier Abdullah Badawi had been fully apprised of the issue and it would be sorted out soon.

Maran's visit today is a follow-up to Badawi's official visit to India last month where he had sought India's cooperation in the field of IT.