PM'S VISIT TO RUSSIA STRENGTHENS BILATERAL TIES, EXPLORES NEW OPPORTUNITIES

From Sharifah Hunaini Syed Ismail

KAZAN (TATARSTAN), May 16 (Bernama) -- The strong bilateral ties between Malaysia and the Russian Federation have been further reinforced through Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's official visit, which ended today.

The Prime Minister said at the final media conference of his visit that the close ties between the two countries would be translated into more conducive trade relations, including the exploration of new sectors offered by both nations.

Malaysia, he added, is set to benefit from the high tourism potential from Russia through the Russian airline Aeroflot, which is expected to resume flights to Malaysia soon.

"During my meeting with (Russian) President Vladimir Putin, he openly stated an interest in further expanding the halal network as well as Islamic banking and finance,” he told the Malaysian media covering the official visit, which began on Tuesday (May 13).

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, led a delegation that comprised Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Li Kang, Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

Anwar said that throughout the visit, he and his delegation met with 24 companies in Russia that expressed interest in expanding their businesses in Malaysia and also held two business events with companies wanting to learn more about trade aspects in the country.

"I also held a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to discuss bilateral issues, including agro-commodities, agriculture, cocoa, oil palm and issues that hinder close cooperation. All of these will be resolved efficiently.

"But certainly our focus is on palm oil and palm-based products. We also emphasised the chemical industry, furniture, retail and infrastructure development, including digital and AI (artificial intelligence),” he said.

Anwar also said that during his visit to the Republic of Tatarstan, he was very impressed by the environment in the country, which upholds Islam but, at the same time, has good relations with the Orthodox church here.

"I hope we can adopt the spirit of cooperation that is practised here,” he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, Anwar said he had the opportunity to raise the issue of the results of the findings released by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) during his meeting with Putin.

"I happened to be among the first heads of government to meet with President Putin immediately after the report was released.

"But President Putin's answer was clear, that firstly, he (Putin) expressed regret over the tragedy and extended condolences to all affected families, and secondly, Putin said that he remains open to any further investigation if needed and that Russia will cooperate," he said.

Recently, the ICAO concluded that Russia was responsible for the incident in which MH17 was shot down, kiling all 298 passengers and crew members on board, including 196 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians and 38 Australian citizens in 2014.

The decision was announced in separate statements by the Dutch and Australian governments on Monday (May 12), which described it as an important step towards justice and accountability for the victims and their families.

-- BERNAMA