Malaysia: PM Modi inaugurates Torana Gate in 'Little India'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak today jointly inaugurated the Torana Gate in 'Little India' in Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking before the inauguration, Prime Minister Modi said that Torana Gate will be a cornerstone of the relation between India and Malaysia.

"This gate connects two countries. The message of Lord Buddha reverberates across Asia as he highlighted the importance of peace.Indian tourists come in large numbers to Kuala Lumpur and they always go to little India. Now, the Torana Gate will be a major attraction," he said.

"Singapore's hero Lee Kuan Yew used to say that a country's progress is measured not just by economic growth but by cultural progress too.the India-Malaysia relations will have a very positive effect on the entire Asian region," he added.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Prime Minister said that India had shown the rest of world that a country did not need to compromise its moral values and social traditions in pursuit of greater economic growth.

The Torana Gate project, which was launched by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was supposed to have been completed by 2010 but got delayed by five-years.

The gate is a gift from India to mark the launch of Little India in Kuala Lumpur's Brickfields suburb as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.