KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Russia are committed to enhancing bilateral cooperation, Wisma Putra said today, following a meeting between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
In their meeting, Mohamad and Lavrov discussed strengthening collaboration through existing platforms particularly the Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation.
They also spoke on issues related to trade and investment, the halal industry and Islamic banking, defence, science and technology, education including TVET, tourism and official visits.
"Both Foreign Ministers also briefly touched on regional and international issues, including the situation in Palestine," Wisma Putra said in a statement.
"Both Foreign Ministers were in Vientiane, Laos, to participate in the Asean-Russia Post Ministerial Conference and the Asean Regional Forum, where they extensively discussed Asean-Russia Dialogue Relations and regional and international issues of common concern."
Wisma Putra said Mohamad and Lavrov also exchanged Diplomatic Notes on Cooperation between Malaysia's Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
Lavrov is on two-day a working visit to Malaysia. Earlier today, he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Their discussion focused on Malaysia's application to join BRICS, which Russia currently chairs.
Wisma Putra said during the courtesy call, Lavrov assured Anwar that Russia would extend its support to Malaysia's aspiration to join BRICS.
Russia is Malaysia's eighth-largest trading partner among European countries. Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries stood at RM14.22 billion (USD3.1 billion).