On Feb 10, Russia celebrates Diplomats' Day.
The date was set by President Vladimir Putin on Oct 31, 2002, to commemorate the founding of the Russian diplomatic service, which traces its history back to 1549 when an Ambassadorial Department (Posolsky Prikaz in Russian) was established by Czar Ivan IV, as mentioned in official chronicles.
Diplomacy has always been a core instrument for creating favourable conditions for the country's development, maintaining peace, stability and prosperity across the globe.
Malaysia is a key member of Asean, and an influential participant of the Non-Alignment Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The diplomatic relations between Russia and Malaysia were formalised in 1967, but the contacts began long before that.
Almost one century prior, in 1874 or 1875, Russian scientist N.N. Miklouho-Maclay made an expedition to the Malay Peninsula to conduct ethnographic and anthropological research in the remote areas of Johor, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan and Kedah.
When the British colonial authorities demanded from the Russian scientist to share his data, he refused in order not to bring harm to the population.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Russia and Malaysia have been working in close rapport in the interest of maintaining political dialogue, regularly exchanging messages at the highest level and on pressing international problems.
Several Yang di-Pertuan Agong have visited Russia. Tuanku Ja'afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman was in St Petersburg in May 1997, and Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin ibni Almarhum Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail visited in September 2005.
Putin has been to Malaysia three times: an official visit in August 2003, to attend the OIC Summit in October 2003 and to participate in the first Russia-Asean Summit in December 2005. The Chairman of the Government Dmitry Medvedev visited Kuala Lumpur in November 2015 to take part in the East Asia Summit.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, all Malaysian prime ministers have visited Russia. We hope that this practice, underpinned by the dialogue between our foreign ministers, will be resumed.
We remember and appreciate Malaysia's leading role in facilitating Russia's participation in the OIC in 2005.
We aim to continue closely cooperating with all Muslim countries on key issues, including on the early settlement of the situation in Gaza and ensuring the rights of the people of Palestine.
The concerted efforts of our countries have translated into significant progress in strengthening bilateral relations.
The second Meeting of the Joint Russian-Malaysian Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation became one the main events. It was held in November 2023 in Kuala Lumpur. Fruitful dialogue took place on various issues, including economics, finance, agriculture and education.
Last May, the 55-member Malaysian delegation — including two members of the government — was the most representative one at the 14th International Economic Forum "Russia — Islamic World" in the city of Kazan.
Malaysia is one of the Russia's main trading partners in Southeast Asia. Russia is Malaysia's leading trading partner among the Commonwealth of Independent States . But we need to work hard on ramping up the numbers, according to our potential.
Russia is ready to assist Malaysia in becoming more resilient in terms of agriculture and food security. We have many opportunities in information communications technology and manufacturing.
Both countries pay attention to scientific and technical ties. We enjoy a longstanding partnership in space exploration and industry. In June 2023, Russia launched another Malaysian communications satellite.
Malaysia became the first Asean country to send an astronaut to the International Space Station in October 2007 under a bilateral programme with the Russian Space Agency. Its director general, Yuri Borisov, visited Kuala Lumpur in July 2023 to discuss the roadmap for further cooperation.
Educational ties is an important component of bilateral cooperation. There is a regular exchange of young scientists and students, primarily in medicine and aviation. In the past decade, more than 4,500 Malaysian doctors graduated from Russian universities. Currently, more than 850 Malaysians are studying in our country. We look forward to increasing this number, especially for engineering and high-tech specialties.
We consider Malaysia as one of our reliable partners thanks to its neutral position in international affairs and willingness to build equal, mutually beneficial relations, despite the pressure from the so-called collective West.
* The writer is Russian ambassador to Malaysia