Official website of the President of Russia

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Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister,

I would like to greet all Malaysian colleagues who arrived together with you and to express the hope that their stay, as well as your stay, Mr Prime Minister, will be productive.

We are convinced that this long-awaited visit will help strengthen relations between our countries even further. Much of what the Prime Minister has said is reflected in the joint Russian-Malaysian communique.

I would like to note that relations between Russia and Malaysia are developing in a very positive way. Today we took a look at the state of bilateral relations. We found some promising areas of cooperation, including coordination of economic efforts. In this connection, I would like to stress that Malaysia, which accounts for 24%, or one quarter, of all global output in electronics and electrical goods, is certainly a good partner for Russia in hi-tech sectors.

Malaysia has already launched a spacecraft using a Russian launch vehicle. Today we spoke about the possible continuation of such cooperation, including in the use of Russian mobile launchers. Especially since Malaysia sits almost on the equator, a very convenient place for activities of this kind.

We want to cooperate in energy, bioengineering, hydropower, and so on.

Russia and Malaysia are cooperating well in military technology. Malaysian specialists have been able to see the high quality of Russian military equipment, including aircraft. Our specialists consider it possible not only to conduct trade in this field, but also to develop co-production. Including in developing Malaysia’s own research and production infrastructure.

There is a great future, in my view, in cooperation in the humanitarian sphere.

We discussed all this today, just as we discussed international cooperation. This cooperation also concerns the fight against terrorism and, of course, one cannot help agreeing with our distinguished guest when he says that the top priority must be to uproot the causes that give rise to this kind of thing.

It is necessary to enhance the role of the United Nations in many areas, and not least in the struggle against terror.

In this connection, I would like to point out that the Russian leadership also welcomes a recently adopted UN Security Council resolution recognising the Palestinian people’s right to a state of their own and giving de facto recognition to a Palestinian state. Russia’s shares this position, which the Russian leadership has been upholding for quite a while now.

The Prime Minister’s visit is not over yet. He still has work to do in Russia.

Our meeting today was attended by the governors of several Russian regions with which Malaysia is cultivating direct ties. These were Siberian regions, such as Buryatiya, the Far East, and the Khabarovsk Territory. We, for our part, intend to do all we can to maintain direct relations between the Russian regions and Malaysia and our Malaysian partners.

A meeting between businesspeople will be held later today. I expect that direct contacts between representatives of the business communities of both countries will be productive and will bear practical fruit.

Thank you.