Anwar, Putin agree on special mechanism to expedite agreements

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held his first bilateral meeting last night with Russian president Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India.

The two leaders exchanged views on matters of mutual interest and Putin agreed to Anwar’s suggestion for the establishment of a special mechanism between Putrajaya and Moscow to expedite the execution of all agreements reached between the two nations in recent years, Bernama reported.

The agreements include the import of Malaysian palm oil by Moscow and direct flights between both countries.

In a social media post, Anwar said the meeting, which began at about 11pm, provided an opportunity for the two leaders to assess the progress of Malaysia-Russia relations and determine several concrete measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

“I raised the need to expedite efforts to realise the direct flights between Malaysia and Russia, as well as visa-free travel arrangements that were agreed to previously, in order to boost tourism, trade and investment between the two countries,” he said.

The prime minister also reiterated his appreciation for Russia’s support for energy cooperation with Malaysia, with the collaboration between the respective state-owned companies, Rosneft and Petronas.

Meanwhile, Russian news agency TASS quoted Putin as describing the 12.9% growth in trade turnover between Russia and Malaysia last year as “a solid pace”.

“Last year, trade turnover between our countries grew by 12.9%. That is a good pace,” he was quoted as saying.

The president emphasised that Moscow attaches great importance to contacts with Kuala Lumpur in the fields of education, science, technology, and tourism.

“In our conversation, we had the opportunity to discuss priority issues regarding our cooperation in all these areas,” the Russian leader noted, according to TASS.

Anwar is expected to have three more bilateral meetings today with Modi, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, and Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, according to Bernama.

The prime minister arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Malaysia’s participation in the BRICS Leaders’ Summit is in its capacity as a BRICS partner country since Jan 1, 2025.

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