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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

The current official visit by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mr Anwar Ibrahim, to Russia, and the talks we had today clearly show that Russian-Malaysian relations are on the rise. They are advancing steadily and consistently, with both sides sincerely interested in making our cooperation even more substantive and productive. We certainly have everything we need to achieve this.

Russia and Malaysia are bound by long-standing traditions of friendship and mutual understanding. We have always strived to consider each other’s interests, work as partners, and build cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, and we continue to do so. In this vein, our countries maintain regular political contact and coordination between our foreign ministries, sector ministries, security councils and security services. Inter-parliamentary and interregional contacts are also expanding.

I would like to note that Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim is making a significant personal contribution to promoting equal partnership between Russia and Malaysia, and above all, its economic dimension. Let me remind you that last year, he took part in the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok as a guest of honour, and tomorrow, he will travel to Tatarstan to attend the International Economic Forum Russia – Islamic World: Kazan Forum.

Following up on today’s talks, I would like to emphasise that we covered all bilateral and international priorities and outlined concrete plans to strengthen Russia-Malaysia cooperation as we go forward.

Without a doubt, we prioritised advancement of trade and investment cooperation. At year-end 2024, trade between Russia and Malaysia exceeded US$3.2 billion. The Intergovernmental Economic Commission’s operation is unfaltering. We agreed to hold its next meeting in Malaysia in the autumn.

Energy is the key area of our bilateral cooperation. The Malaysian petroleum and gas concern Petronas is Rosneft’s shareholder, and Gazprom is developing partnership relations with this company. Our country supplies significant volumes of petroleum products and coal to the Malaysian market, and we see prospects for the implementation of joint projects in the gas sector and peaceful nuclear development.

A synthetic rubber plant built with Russia’s participation is successfully operating in Malaysia. Under long-term contracts, potash and nitrogen fertilisers are imported from Russia to meet the needs of Malaysian agriculture.

Mutual supplies of agricultural products – Russian grains and Malaysian foods – are on the rise. Russian producers are interested in scaling up exports of high-quality meat and dairy products, including those complying with the Islamic Halal standard, to Malaysia.

We maintain vibrant and productive cooperation in cultural and humanitarian areas and regularly hold joint film festivals, photo exhibitions, and concerts of musical groups.

Russia assists Malaysia in training highly skilled personnel. At the moment about 700 Malaysian students are studying in our country, including as part of the quota granted by the Government of the Russian Federation. Cooperation between the two countries’ universities relies on more than 80 agreements on scientific and academic cooperation and academic exchanges. Diplomas issued by Russian universities are recognised by Malaysian employers and no additional accreditation is required. Malaysia places great emphasis on studies of the Russian language which is taught at courses offered by the Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology as part of a joint programme with the Moscow Aviation Institute, and at the University of Malaya which is that country’s oldest and most prestigious higher education institution.

Tourism exchanges are steadily expanding with Malaysian resorts gaining increasing popularity among Russian vacationers. Efforts are underway to establish direct air service between our two countries, which will, without a doubt, promote business and humanitarian ties.

Our discussions on regional and global issues showed that Russia’s and Malaysia’s positions are close or overlap. Both countries firmly uphold the principles of rule of international law, sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs of other nations, and continue to coordinate their efforts on key multilateral venues, including the UN.

A new category of BRICS partner countries was introduced last year during Russia’s BRICS chairmanship. Malaysia, among other nations, received an invitation to participate in BRICS activities as a partner. We are pleased that our Malaysian friends accepted this invitation, and we will do everything to help Malaysia swiftly and seamlessly join all BRICS partnership mechanisms.

We also thoroughly reviewed efforts to promote peace and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, taking into account Malaysia’s current role as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We explored opportunities for expanding the dialogue between these key international associations and Russia.

In closing, I would like to once again express my appreciation for the outcomes of today’s joint work with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. His official visit to Russia continues, and as I mentioned earlier, he will visit the Republic of Tatarstan tomorrow. I am confident that this event-packed visit will work to strengthen every facet of Russian-Malaysian partnership for the benefit of our respective nations.

Thank you.

Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim: Thank you, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation.

On behalf of my delegation, I would like to express my profound appreciation for the wonderful hospitality of this great country with a great history, civilisation, culture and art, and the history of enduring struggle of the people who believe in dignity and independence.

I have said this to President Putin that my admiration extends beyond diplomatic engagements but, because of my understanding of the history and culture and the great contribution in the field of literature and art, and the ballet, which I happened to miss because of the hectic schedule.

We have had extensive discussions since the morning and later with the Prime Minister, and finally, of course, with the President and his team, covering a wide spectrum of issues from education to agriculture and food security to commodities and technologies, security, energy and defence, among others. That shows our commitment to enhancing bilateral relations beyond what we achieved before. It is true, as the President stated with such clarity, the relations have been good, but the potential for investment, trade and collaboration needs to be further enhanced, and that is precisely the reason why I chose to come first to Vladivostok as his guest, and now to Moscow and Kazan.

The joint commissions, various committees, including [on] oil and gas, petrochemicals, have to ensure that we make these changes and take necessary action speedily. Of course, we would appreciate this increasing support in terms of training, aerospace, STI [science, technology, innovation], digital, AI, in which the President and the team have been extremely kind to regard us as a trusted friend and a country where they can place a lot of support.

I think at this stage of development, however vigorous, in the semi-conductor and AI fields, we would certainly want to collaborate with the Russian Federation to enhance this.

There are some outstanding issues due to geopolitical dictates but we have taken a position of centrality in Malaysia and Asia to decide for ourselves what is best for Malaysia and its people. Therefore, we would like to request and suggest that Russian airlines, including Aeroflot, resume direct flights to Malaysia as soon as possible.

Thank you again, Mr President, for the support with our entry into BRICS. I recall our friends in China, Ethiopia and South Africa saying that you made that initial proposal and we, Malaysians, admire and, of course, appreciate it very much.

We did discuss a number of international issues. We are firm on these rules-based multilateral arrangements and, therefore, we have to proceed based on that principle. We do not accept unilateral action of countries because it would disrupt the arrangement, the peace and security of our region and the world.

So, once again, President Putin, I want to assure you that Malaysia places a lot of not only expectations but hope that this sort of a special relationship with the Russian Federation would be effected through meaningful exchanges and programmes.

I, on behalf of the government and people, would wish and think that it is a major and great prize for the people of Malaysia if we can have President Putin in Malaysia as soon as possible or, at the latest, during the ASEAN summit in October. We, I can assure you that your presence in Malaysia will be a major breakthrough not only in the relationship with Malaysia but also the region because many people in the region have high respect and expectations of your rule and your leadership.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.

Mr Prime Minister, I would like to thank you for this visit, which was very productive. You have more work to do, although you have been busy since early morning; you had a meeting at the Government, and a lengthy exchange of extensive amounts of information and opinions just now.

We have really developed a very good, trusting and friendly relationship. Mr Prime Minister said that he is interested in the history and culture of Russia. We appreciate this very much.

Just now, I was telling the Prime Minister about St Andrew Hall, where we are. The room has three thrones. And I asked, “Mr Prime Minister, you can see three thrones here. One is for the tsar; another for his wife, the tsarina. Who do you think was the third throne for?” Mr Prime Minister answered almost without hesitation, “For the second wife.” (Laughter in the hall.) I hope Mr Prime Minister will not be angry with me for telling you this. What he said was the response of a true Muslim, a representative of an Islamic culture. I must acknowledge that our traditional values may not coincide in some respects, but exchanging information is always useful for both parties.

Thank you very much.

Ahmed Ibrahim: I have to respond. I only have one wife, Mr President. But I feel, because Mr President tested me, it was a trick. He asked me before. He asked me: “There are three thrones, you see. Which one is on the right?” I said, “For the wife.” “And on the left?” “The second wife.” Then I knew that the second one on the left was for the mother.

(Laughter.)

Vladimir Putin: The second throne was for his mother. Exchange of information is useful.

Thank you very much.