MOSCOW - Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and a 250-strong delegation, including five cabinet members, corporate executives and Senators, flew to Russia this week for meetings with President Vladimir Putin aimed at seeking selected Russian technologies and exploring potential market opportunities. The agenda also included the ongoing international war on terror.
Russia views Malaysia as a "good partner and reliable friend", Putin was quoted as saying by the Russian Information Agency (RIA).
After talks in the Kremlin on Thursday, Putin and Mahathir inked a statement that hailed the bilateral summit as a "new stage in bilateral relations". Russia and Malaysia pledged to combat international terrorism and contribute to creating a "just and multipolar world", according to the statement.
The "multipolar world" concept used to be Moscow's favorite mantra, designed to state that no nation, namely the US, should dominate in world affairs. In the immediate aftermath of Sept 11, Russia refrained from "multipolar world" rhetoric, but now the mantra has resurfaced.
Putin said that he had agreed with Mahathir's suggestion that the roots of terrorism should have been dealt with first. Putin also advocated a bigger role of the United Nations in the combat against terrorism.
The talks between Putin and Mahathir marked their third meeting in two years. They met in Brunei in 2000 and in Shanghai at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit last year.
Stunning changes
Mahathir also noted "stunning" changes in the Russian capital Moscow since his last visit in 1987 when the city was the capital of the Soviet Union.
Hence the trip did enable the prime minister "to obtain first-hand impressions of the new dynamics that prevail in Russia in the post-communist era," as a Malaysian Foreign Ministry statement put it.
Mahathir was originally scheduled to visit the Russian capital last September, but the trip was postponed at the last minute due to the events of Sept 11.
Russia views Malaysia's foreign policy with "sufficient respect", Putin stated on Thursday.
Mahathir's trip comes with a backdrop of an unexpected increase in Malaysia's commercial shipments to Russia.
In 2001, Malaysian exports to Russia were up by 80 percent, reaching US$158 million, while Russian exports to Malaysia dropped to $265 million ( as compared to $301 million in 2000, according to Russia's Economic Development Ministry. Last year, bilateral trade reached $422 million, or up by 9 percent, as compared to 2001, the ministry said in a statement.
Russia exports steel and steel products, mainly from the Novolipetzk and Cherepovets steel plants (82 percent of its total export volume to Malaysia), machinery (11 percent) and fertilizers (5 percent). Malaysia exports machinery (45 percent of export volume), palm oil and rubber products (some 30 percent) to Russia.
Mahathir conceded that bilateral trade was still low and called for an increase in palm oil exports to Russia. Yet apart from the trade in commodities, the two leaders discussed issues of more advanced technologies.
Technology transfer
Malaysia should become Russia's partner in developing high-tech projects, Putin stated. The two nations could also cooperate in commercial satellite launches, energy, hydropower and biotechnology, he said.
Malaysia is interested in technology transfer, notably relative to Russia's aviation and aircraft manufacturing, Mahathir was quoted by RIA as saying.
Yesterday, Mahathir was due to visit the Piloting Research Institute, or Gromov's LII, in Zhukovsky, just outside Moscow, where he was to view products of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, including the Su-80 multipurpose aircraft.
Final tests of the Su-80, which is capable to carry up to 30 passengers or 3.3 tons of freight, are due to be completed by next fall. The aircraft, produced by the Komsomolsk-on-Amur plant, could be used for both military and civilian purposes.
The Su-80 has a 2,250km range with a 2-tonne load and a 650km range with a 3.5-tonne load. The plant is capable of manufacturing up to 30 Su-80s a year, while the price tag is estimated at $4.5 million to $6 million apiece.
Malaysia has long been understood to be mulling the procurement of Sukhoi aircraft, notably the Su-30 jetfighter, following the purchase of 18 MiG-29s.
However, Sukhoi's chances were dealt a blow in December 1995 when two Su-27s crashed into a hill near the Cam Ranh Bay naval base in central Vietnam due to a simple navigation error.
The wing of Russia's elite fliers was flying five Su-27s back home, returning after demonstration flights at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima) exhibition.
Mahathir, who happened to travel to Russia's Khabarovsk and Buryatia Far Eastern regions in 1999, also urged the development of trade ties between Malaysia and Russia's eastern lands.
Mahathir also visited the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Service, or RosHydromet, where he was briefed on weather control technologies.
RosHydromet head Alexander Bedritsky told Mahathir that Russia had developed unique weather control technologies designed to make rain, and to control hail and smog. The Malaysian leader reportedly "expressed interest" in RosHydromet's know-how relative to its potential use in Malaysian climes.
Mahathir leaves for Germany tomorrow for talks with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, before visiting Poland for two days to meet with his Polish counterpart Leszek Miller. (Asia Times)
