NEW DELHI, Sept 12 - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested a special mechanism between Putrajaya and Moscow to expedite agreements between the two nations.
According to a note provided to Malaysian media, Putin had agreed to the suggestion.
Both leaders also discussed Moscow’s import of Malaysian palm oil and expediting direct flights between both countries during their meeting, held on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit here yesterday.
During the 20-minute discussion, Anwar, who is also finance minister, reiterated his appreciation for Russia’s energy sector cooperation with Malaysia.
In a Facebook post today, Anwar said the meeting, which began at about 11pm Malaysian time, was held in a congenial setting and gave both leaders an opportunity to assess the progress of Malaysia-Russia relations and determine concrete measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
“I raised the need to expedite efforts to realise direct flights between Malaysia and Russia, as well as visa-free travel arrangements that were agreed to previously, to boost tourism, trade and investment between both countries,” he said.
Regarding energy cooperation, the prime minister said both countries have strengths and expertise that can be leveraged to expand cooperation in this strategic sector for mutual benefit.
Petronas had previously engaged with its Russian counterpart Rosneft to advance collaboration in the sector.
Meanwhile, Russian news agency TASS quoted Putin as describing the 12.9 per cent growth in trade turnover between Russia and Malaysia last year as “a solid pace”.
The president said Moscow attaches great importance to contacts with Kuala Lumpur in the fields of education, science, technology, and tourism.
“During (yesterday’s) conversation, we had the opportunity to discuss priority issues regarding our cooperation in all these areas,” the Russian leader noted.
Anwar arrived here yesterday to attend the BRICS summit, hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Malaysia is participating in the summit as a BRICS partner country - a status it achieved on January 1, 2025.
The meeting with Putin was Anwar’s first bilateral meeting here.
In 2024, total ASEAN-Russia trade amounted to US$18.1 billion, while Russian foreign direct investment in ASEAN totalled RM367.9 million.
Russia was Malaysia’s ninth-largest trading partner among European nations in 2025, with total trade valued at RM8.72 billion.
Malaysia’s primary exports to Russia included electrical and electronic products, machinery, equipment and parts, and processed food, while principal imports comprised petroleum products, minerals, chemicals and chemical-based products.
