Visiting mode: the Prime Minister of Malaysia accepted the invitation to visit the Russian Federation

Russia and Malaysia are discussing expanding cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. This topic was one of the main topics during the talks between the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, and the leadership of the southeastern country. In addition, Moscow and Kuala Lumpur are discussing the prospects for cooperation in the space industry. Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim accepted an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Moscow. Since 2022, despite Western sanctions and external pressure, Malaysia sees Russia as a reliable partner, experts say.

Bilateral relations between Russia and Malaysia

Sergei Shoigu arrived in Malaysia on a working visit on February 26. However, the main program was scheduled for the next day: first, negotiations with the Director General of the National Security Council at the Office of the Prime Minister, Nushirvan Zainal Abidin, and then with the head of Government, Anwar Ibrahim. He also visited the country's defense ministry, where he met with the head of the military department, Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The Secretary of the Russian Security Council conveyed a message from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which speaks about the traditionally friendly nature of bilateral relations. In addition, it included an invitation to the Prime Minister of Malaysia to pay an official visit to Russia, which the head of government accepted. The last time the politicians met was in September 2024 at the Eastern Economic Forum.

Russian-Malaysian relations are actively developing, believes Alexander Korolev, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute of Higher School of Economics, Candidate of Political Sciences.

— Since 2022, relations with Malaysia have been actively developing in terms of political, diplomatic and economic cooperation. The Prime Minister's arrival at the WEF was a striking breakthrough. We should not forget about Malaysia's desire to become a full—fledged member of the BRICS," the expert told Izvestia.

During the talks with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, prospects for deepening trade and economic ties were discussed. The country ranks first in the world in the production of electronic chips, which makes it extremely attractive to Russia. Russia actively imports microelectronics and semiconductors from there. There is no exact figure for 2024 yet, but in 2023 the trade turnover between our countries increased by 11% and exceeded $3 billion. Moscow also sees a large sales market in Malaysia. Since the beginning of the SVR, the Russian Federation has strengthened its position on it, Alexander Korolev added.

— Russia has begun to supply more mineral fuels, coal briquettes and various fertilizers. Currently, the Russian Federation occupies about 23% of the total fertilizer market in the country, which makes it one of the key exporters in this area. Aluminum supplies have increased. In the opposite direction, it's primarily electronics," Alexander Korolev said in an interview with Izvestia.

Cooperation between Russia and Malaysia in energy and space

During the negotiations, the parties paid special attention to cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. The Russian delegation included a representative of Rosatom, a company that had expressed its willingness to build a nuclear reactor in Malaysia back in 2015. In September 2024, the state corporation announced that they see prospects for work in the country. Malaysia has the only research reactor, which was launched in 1982. They plan to build three or four nuclear power plants there by 2030. It is possible that Rosatom will take part in the construction of one of them. Malaysia has also expressed interest in the Russian floating nuclear power plant project.

During the negotiations with the Malaysian side, the space industry was also discussed. Last September, the country's acting Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, stressed the importance of cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of space industry technologies. Former Roscosmos CEO Yuri Borisov visited Malaysia in 2023 and presented proposals for cooperation in the field of remote sensing of the Earth, including an agricultural management system, services for monitoring construction sites and cartography.

Russia's cooperation with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) also became a topic of conversation. "We discussed measures to preserve the ten as such, its productive work, its existence, and how to avoid a persistent invasion to destroy this very important structure, which has shown effectiveness," Shoigu said.

ASEAN is currently experiencing internal and external problems that may concern Russia. Moscow sees the top ten as a structure that fits into the system of a multipolar world. As for internal problems, here we are talking, first of all, about disagreements within the organization that can disrupt its legal capacity. The stumbling block is Myanmar, where the military came to power in 2021. Malaysia and Indonesia are taking a very tough stance against this country. The external factor is the development and expansion of organizations such as QUAD (Australia, India, USA, Japan) and AUKUS (Australia, Great Britain, USA), which enhance the militarization of the region.

Cooperation between Moscow and Kuala Lumpur through BRICS could also be discussed at the meeting. Malaysia has been a partner State of the organization since January. The country is interested in becoming a full-fledged BRICS member based on the example of Indonesia, which received this status at the beginning of this year.