KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is keen to expand its market in Russia, particularly in the eastern part of the country, to further boost economic relations between the two nations, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
“We see (the) eastern part of Russia may be a good place for us to have a market for our export and source some other things from this part of Russia,” he said in an interview with Moscow-based news agency, Sputnik.
The report was posted on the news agency’s website today.
The premier is currently in Vladivostok, Russia for the 5th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which was attended by global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, both leaders met for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the three-day EEF, discussing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries further.
During the interview, Dr Mahathir said there was no plan yet for any agreement to be signed between Malaysian and Russian companies during the event.
However, he indicated that the government had made some moves to woo investment from Russia.
“We have been talking to Russian companies about the possibility of their involvement in Malaysian economic development, particularly in foreign direct investment,” he said.
In 2018, the Russian Federation became Malaysia’s 28th global trading partner. — Bernama
