Malaysia, Russia to deepen economic ties
MOSCOW: Malaysia and Russia will deepen economic cooperation, particularly in high-potential sectors such as the halal industry, agriculture and food security, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said.
He said bilateral trade between the two countries remained modest in 2024, despite Russia's large economy.
Russia ranked as Malaysia's ninth-largest trading partner among European nations this year, with total trade reaching RM11.46 billion (US$2.48 billion).
Malaysia's key exports to Russia include electrical and electronic products, machinery, equipment and parts, as well as processed food.
"I invited Russian companies to invest in Malaysia and take advantage of the government's incentives in strategic sectors such as aerospace, agrotechnology, energy, ICT (information and communications technology), the digital economy, Islamic finance and the halal industry," he said at a press conference at the end of his four-day working visit to Russia late last night.
Fadillah, who is also the energy transition and water transformation minister, called for cooperation in agriculture and food security, and proposed joint research and development in fertiliser and pesticide technologies, agro-engineering and food technology.
"I discussed collaboration in higher education and conveyed appreciation to the Russian government for its scholarships to Malaysian students.
"I also proposed that these scholarships be extended to emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, big data and information science, in line with current industrial transformation," he said.
On tourism, Fadillah said Malaysia welcomed a proposal for direct flights between the two countries, which is expected to be finalised soon.
However, he said that Russia had raised concerns over financial transactions, which had to some extent hampered the growth of bilateral trade.
He gave an assurance that the Malaysian government, through the relevant agencies, including Bank Negara Malaysia, would continue to facilitate smooth financial transactions between both sides.
"I will present the outcomes of my discussions with Russian counterparts to the cabinet upon my return to Malaysia.
"Insya-Allah, I am confident that Malaysia-Russia cooperation will continue to develop positively and bring tangible benefits to our country," he added.
– Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
30 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Bursa Malaysia to trade in cautious mode with upside bias next week
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade in cautious mode next week, but with an upside bias amid a constructive backdrop, as investors shift their focus away from the Middle East risks, an analyst said. SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes believed investors will concentrate on assessing upcoming macroeconomic data releases while awaiting the deadline for the United States' reciprocal tariff pause. "That said, the chances of an extension to the deadline are increasing given recent geopolitical distractions," he told Bernama, adding that market sentiment could also be supported by the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate cut at its July meeting. Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng maintains a cautiously optimistic view on the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI's (FBM KLCI) near-term outlook, as the index shows signs of upward momentum. "We believe that a breakout above the 1,530 level, supported by strong trading volume and sustained price action, would be a constructive signal that the market is ready to stage the next leg of its rally," he said. For the upcoming week, Thong believes that market attention will focus on several key macroeconomic releases, both locally and internationally. "In the near term, we anticipate the FBM KLCI to trade within a range of 1,510 to 1,540," he added. On a weekly basis, the barometer index advanced 25.42 points to 1,528.16 from 1,502.74 in the preceding week. The FBM Emas Index expanded 169.81 points to 11,398.80, the FBMT 100 Index 165.91 points to 11,181.36, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index garnered 139.79 points to 11,341.13. The FBM 70 Index climbed 152.91 points to 16,270.66 and the FBM ACE Index rose 73.91 points to 4,474.76. Across sectors, the Financial Services Index jumped 268.72 points to 17,737.10, the Plantation Index surged 108.50 points to 7,329.02, the Healthcare Index edged up 17.70 points to 1,709.59, and the Industrial Products and Services Index perked up 4.71 points to 151.98. However, the Energy Index declined by 3.03 points to 732.68. Turnover for the shortened trading week narrowed to 11.68 billion units worth RM8.45 billion from 13.72 billion units worth RM10.84 billion in the preceding week. The Main Market volume dropped to 5.40 billion units valued at RM7.39 billion against 6.29 billion units valued at RM9.63 billion previously. Warrants turnover tumbled to 4.96 billion units worth RM655.61 million versus 6.16 billion units worth RM845.61 million a week ago. The ACE Market volume slipped to 1.07 billion units valued at RM399.48 million compared with 1.25 billion units valued at RM361.21 million a week earlier.
New Straits Times
31 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
MONEY THOUGHTS: Of squeezes and substitutions
CAN you sense the snowballing righteous indignation of regular people at the arrogance and disrespect shown to them by political leaders — far and near? Globally, Donald Trump's tariffs on the whole world have angered entire continents, even as some cautious national leaders are taking a placatory stance toward him. Note: Even disregarding trade volumes for the moment, the sizable dip in the number of foreign students enrolling in American universities, and the cratering of tourist visits Stateside both bear testimony to one unsurprising truth: If you don't want me, I have options! While not true under monopolistic or monopsonistic circumstances, it is true most of the time. (In a monopoly, there is only one seller or provider of a good or service; so, a monopolistic vendor can raise prices to the roof. Conversely, in a monopsony, there is only one buyer, again, of a good or service; therefore, a monopsonistic buyer can — and almost always will — slam prices to the floor on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.) Thankfully, we — people and countries — have choices. So, while Trump considers the United States of America the economic centre of Earth, billions of people are waking up to the truth that 95.8 per cent of humanity lives outside America, and about 73 per cent of global GDP (gross domestic product) is generated within the other 192 member countries of the United Nations (and the two permanent observers, the Vatican and beleaguered Palestine). In most buy-and-sell transactions worldwide, the high-handed arrogance of entitled monopolists and monopsonists cannot gain traction because of one word: CHOICE. CHOICE AND SUBSTITUTION Fused onto the word "choice" like a semantic Siamese twin is the robust economic concept of "substitution", which applies to current American economic animosity toward most other countries, and also to the growing hordes of frustrated Malaysian consumers and business owners. People have choices when substitutions abound. You exercise this proactive power each time you dine out and scan menu items. If you see two meal options, which appeal equally to your growling stomach, you are likely to select the cheaper option. When extending the selection of options made from among several (or, better yet, many) economic choices, we humans usually revert to the common sense behaviour of rejecting those who reject us and instead seeking out those who are warm, friendly and accepting. For an extreme recent example, consider the sheer idiocy of the Trump administration barring eager, supersmart non-Americans from entering Harvard University. China's immediate (and massively logical) response was to welcome those brainiacs with open arms. Every country's future wealth is more dependent upon the scientific, technological and business acumen of a minority of talented people — regardless of where they were born — than upon the masses who believe mere birthright dubiously grants them some form of superiority. I suspect if America continues down this path of rejecting those who come from outside its shores, in less than a decade, other countries, led by wiser leaders, will grow at its expense. However, the proven self-correcting mechanisms in the American system of governance will probably permit the pendulum to swing back toward sanity in a few years. So, the advantage those of us who invest globally have is a vast range of choices for the allocation of our hard-earned, hard-won and hard-retained capital. Within our, ideally, globally diversified portfolios we should observe and think before acting. ECONOMIC RE-ENGINEERING Toward that end, the idea of substitution is readily understood, both within the SIPs (or savings and investment portfolios) we build lifelong wealth with, and within the narrow parameters of analysing the impact hiking a small country like Malaysia's sales and service (SST) rates can have. In case you missed it, there was an announcement that the Malaysian government will rake in an additional RM10 billion from its most recent hikes in certain SST rates. Time will tell if that durian runtuh -type harvest for government coffers materialises. You see, on the surface, having a competent, clean government that collects more tax revenue and which channels it toward enhancing the country's healthcare and education systems is laudable. However, that targeted extra RM10 billion flowing to the government is RM10 billion flowing OUT from the collective pockets of all Malaysians. It's been reiterated that 85 per cent of Malaysians won't be hurt too much, while the highest earning 15 per cent of Malaysian households shouldn't begrudge this economic re-engineering. Yet, in truth, dissatisfaction is rising like a king tide across all slices of the so-called privileged T15 — the 15 per cent of top-earning Malaysians. And the source of that dissatisfaction — increased taxes — will morph consumption habits across all socio-economic layers of this country. When we-the-people feel that disengaged authorities are squeezing us, we will respond rationally, logically, and decisively — to protect the economic well-being of those who matter most to us: our immediate families. Similarly, but on a larger scale, countries other than the US, especially across Asia, will evolve and grow new supply chains that exclude and sideline offensive rogue nations intent on rejecting or hurting them. Consider that as you contemplate your key investment choices over the next three-and-a-half years. © 2025 Rajen Devadason
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
Kyiv struggles to sleep
Tracer fire from machine guns lighting up the sky as Ukrainian personnel tried to shoot down incoming Russian drones over Kyiv in the predawn hours of June 10. — Lynsey Addario/The New York Times THE screech of air-raid sirens, the buzzing of drones, first approaching, then fading. The rattle of machine guns and the roar of air defence missiles being launched. Explosions in the sky. These are the sounds of Kyiv, night after night, including on June 10, when Russia attacked Ukraine with 315 drones and seven missiles, Ukrainian officials say.
