KAZAN (Tatarstan), May 16 (Bernama) — The first segment of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official visit to the Russian Federation has been described as highly fruitful, with potential trade and investments of between US$5 billion and US$10 billion.

During the visit to Moscow, which started on Tuesday, the prime minister also held meetings with industry players, according to Political Secretary to the Prime Minister, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim.

One of the sectors in focus was the halal industry.

Moscow, which is the capital and the largest city of Russia, has a population of over 13 million people, and between 1.5 million and two million of them are Muslims.

“We saw great potential for the next five years. If all goes well, we could see potential trade and investments worth US$5 billion-US$10 billion between Malaysia and Russia,” he told Malaysian media on Thursday.

Muhammad Kamil said during Anwar’s meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the parties had discussed several important issues, including the volatile trade landscape.

“We have seen developments that could further strengthen and expand economic trade opportunities, including confirmation and finalisation of arrangements for direct flights by Russian carrier Aeroflot, which will soon commence operations from Moscow to Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

He added that this would further boost tourism between both countries, which has already seen a significant increase in tourists from Russia and Malaysia over the past two years.

Anwar, who is on a four-day official visit to Russia, arrived in Kazan yesterday for the second segment of his trip, which concludes today.

The Prime Minister is expected to deliver a digitalisation-themed keynote address at the 16th International Economic Forum, “Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum” (KazanForum 2025), which is the highlight of the final day of his official visit to the Russian Federation.

Kazan, located more than 830 kilometres from Moscow, is the largest city and capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.

It is known as an industrial, commercial, and cultural centre for the Tatars.

— BERNAMA

TAGS: Prime Minister, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, trade, Kazan, Moscow, official visit

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