Malaysia has conveyed its eagerness to engage India on the defence front by expressing a “keen interest” in procuring the indigenous Akash anti-air missile system.

Defence Minister A K Antony, who returned from a tour to Malaysia on Tuesday, said top military leaders of the country broached the subject during his visit. “Malaysians got to hear about the 100 per cent successful trials and broached the subject of its acquisition during the talks,” Antony said.

He added that the country’s request would be looked at in a “positive light” by India and more discussions on the issue are likely to take place shortly. Elaborating on his tour, Antony said Malaysia has conveyed to New Delhi that it wanted an early agreement to regulate employment of Indian workers in that country. He said that discussions were held to hasten up the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that would regulate the employment conditions and welfare of Indian workers in Malaysia and Malaysian nationals in India.

“The topic came up during my discussions with the Malaysian Foreign Minister as well as the PM,” Antony said.