Russian senators, members of the Cooperation Group, met with their Malaysian counterparts.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin had a meeting with Deputy President of the Dewan Negara (Senate) of the Parliament of Malaysia Nur Jazlan Mohamed. Also attending the meeting were Anatoly Artamonov, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on the Budget and Financial Markets, Head of the Federation Council Cooperation Group with the Senate of the Parliament of Malaysia, and Russian senators and members of the cooperation group Oleg Golov, Sergei Gornyakov, and Nikolai Semisotov.
Grigory Karasin noted more intensive political contacts between Russia and Malaysia. “The recent official visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to Russia and his talks with the President of Russia indicate that bilateral relations are on the rise and have good prospects,” the senator stressed.
He welcomed Malaysia’s accession to BRICS as a partner state. “This will further strengthen our association and help rally supporters of a more balanced multipolar world order,” Grigory Karasin said. Considering that Malaysia is presiding in ASEAN this year, the senator also pointed out the importance of cooperation as part of the forum, primarily to promote the Russian President’s initiative to build a collective security system on the Eurasian continent.
According to Anatoly Artamonov, Malaysia is an advanced nation, including with respect to technology. He also noted the importance of promoting bilateral economic and investment cooperation and strengthening transport links to accommodate larger trade volumes.
In turn, Nur Jazlan Mohamed noted that bilateral relations are expanding dynamically. According to him, in the context of geopolitical instability, Malaysia is interested in stronger ties with the Russian Federation across the board.
During the conversation, the parties touched upon a wide range of issues that the parliamentarians plan to address cooperatively. In particular, they discussed ways of unlocking the potential for cooperation in nuclear energy, finance, joint exploration of outer space, humanitarian cooperation and tourism. They agreed to expedite the enactment of the draft intergovernmental agreement on mutual visa-free travel.
The schedule of further inter-parliamentary contacts between the upper houses of the parliaments of Russia and Malaysia was also discussed.
A separate discussion focused on regional security issues. Grigory Karasin informed his Malaysian colleagues about the causes and goals of the special military operation in Ukraine.