Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 7 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday had a warm and cordial telephonic conversation with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, who conveyed his greetings and extended an invitation to visit Malaysia to further strengthen cooperation with Karnataka, the chief minister's office said in a statement.

Sivakumar thanked him for the gracious invitation and expressed his hope to visit Malaysia at a mutually convenient time, as per the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

'Delighted to speak with the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia, who called to convey his warm wishes on my new responsibility as Chief Minister of Karnataka. Our discussion focused on strengthening ties between Karnataka and Malaysia, particularly in education, technology, innovation, and people-to-people exchanges. With many Malaysian students pursuing their education in Karnataka, there is immense potential to deepen our partnership. I look forward to visiting Malaysia and was pleased to invite the Honourable Prime Minister to Karnataka as we work towards meaningful collaboration and shared progress,' Sivakumar said.

'He also invited the Prime Minister to visit Karnataka and experience the state's strengths in innovation, industry, technology, education and culture,' as per the CMO.

The Chief Minister said he looks forward to deepening collaboration between Malaysia and Karnataka, fostering stronger partnerships in trade, investment, technology, education, talent exchange and cultural cooperation.

'With thousands of Malaysian students pursuing higher education in Karnataka, there exists a strong people-to-people connection that can serve as a foundation for even greater shared growth and prosperity,' as per the CMO.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar opted to travel by Bengaluru's Namma metro to visit his home village in the Kanakpura constituency. This is Shivakumar's first visit to his home constituency since assuming the office of Chief Minister a few days ago.

Shivakumar travelled from Vidhana Soudha metro to Central Silk Board junction via the metro, interacting with the public.

Travelling with his security detail, the Chief Minister was seen greeting people, while others wanted to take pictures with him and have a chat.

The Chief Minister said that instead of troubling people with traffic disruptions due to convoy movement, he chose to travel 45 minutes by metro instead.

'I don't want to waste the time of the common man. When a CM travels, there will definitely be a lot of traffic issues...I just travelled about 45-50 minutes in the metro...I'll go to my village and greet the public who have been voting for me since 1985,' he told reporters after getting off the metro. (ANI)