Prime Minister Anwar’s Visit to Russia: Long on Pomp, Short on Outcomes

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visited Russia last week. While his visit was heavy on symbolism, it yielded few solid outcomes, especially in the all-important realm of economic ties.

In essence, his trip was designed to promote three interconnected interests: strengthening economic engagement with Russia; demonstrating Malaysia’s non-aligned foreign policy; and bolstering religious ties with Russia’s Muslim population.

This was Anwar’s second visit to Russia in eight months (in September 2024, he attended the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok).

In Moscow, the prime minister was received with displays of pomp and pageantry. On his arrival, he was accorded a guard of honour, the first for a Malaysian leader in Russia since then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s visit in 2007. Later that day, he met President Vladimir Putin in the ornate surroundings of St. Andrew’s Hall in the Kremlin.

The timing of the two leaders’ meeting could not have come at a more awkward moment. As Anwar’s plane was en route to Moscow, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency, ruled that Russia was responsible for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014 which killed all 298 passengers and crew.

MH17 was mistakenly shot down by separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region using a Russian-supplied surface-to-air missile. Russia denied any involvement in the atrocity, blaming the US Central Intelligence Agency and Ukraine instead. While Australia and the Netherlands called on the ICAO to order Russia to pay reparations to the families of the deceased, the Kremlin rejected the decision as “biased”.

In front of the cameras, however, it was sweetness and light between Putin and Anwar. There was no mention of MH17, though Anwar later said he raised the issue with Putin, who apparently had expressed a willingness to participate in a “meticulous and impartial inquiry” into the downing of the aircraft.

It is almost certain that no new inquiry will take place. It has been 11 years since the tragedy, and relations between Europe and Russia have completely fractured in the wake of the latter’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

As with his predecessors, Najib Razak (who was prime minister at the time of the MH17 shootdown) and Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar has refused to point the finger of blame at Russia. This is part of a deliberate strategy to insulate Malaysia’s  generally positive relationship with Russia from the incident.

Laying it on a little too thick, Anwar commented that Putin should make the journey to Southeast Asia because ‘many people in the region have high respect and expectations of your rule and your leadership’. ASEAN’s Western dialogue partners, as well as Japan and South Korea, all of which imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, would be less than thrilled if indeed the Russian leader turns up.

Malaysia has adopted a similar strategy towards its largest trade partner, China, over their overlapping territorial and jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea. Although Malaysia continues to call for justice for the victims of MH17, it does so without “politicising the tragedy“.

As they did in Vladivostok last year, Anwar and Putin praised each other and the development of bilateral ties. This year, Malaysia is the chair of ASEAN, and Anwar reiterated his invitation to Putin to attend the organisation’s annual high-level summits in Kuala Lumpur in October.

Laying it on a little too thick, Anwar commented that Putin should make the journey to Southeast Asia because “many people in the region have high respect and expectations of your rule and your leadership”. ASEAN’s Western dialogue partners, as well as Japan and South Korea, all of which imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, would be less than thrilled if indeed the Russian leader turns up. As Putin is unenthusiastic about ASEAN’s East Asia Summit, this seems unlikely. Nevertheless, as ASEAN chair, it was the polite thing for Anwar to do.

After his meeting with Putin, Anwar delivered a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, which also awarded him an honorary degree.

Anwar used his speech to underscore Malaysia’s non-aligned policy. He lamented that the “era of geopolitical flux” had cast a shadow over international trade and security. The “fragmentation of global trade” and the “weaponisation of interdependence” posed an “existential threat” to trading countries like Malaysia. As a result, Malaysia looked to diversify its economic relations, including joining BRICS last year so that it could exercise agency “in an increasingly multipolar world”.

As part of this diversification policy, Anwar said Malaysia wanted to increase trade and investment ties with Russia, especially in high-tech industries and halal trade.

In pursuit of the latter, after Moscow, Anwar travelled on to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, an autonomous republic within Russia of which more than half the population is Muslim. In Kazan, he discussed strengthening trade ties with the republic and offered Malaysia’s experience in halal certification. Anwar also took the opportunity to showcase his Madani framework, which promotes good governance, sustainable development, and racial harmony.

During his four-day visit, Anwar invited Russia’s state airline Aeroflot to resume flights to Kuala Lumpur to increase tourism and business between the two countries.

But other than signing letters of intent aimed at boosting cooperation in various sectors, no substantive economic agreements were signed. Although exploratory talks took place late last year, no mention was made of Malaysia’s interest in negotiating a free trade agreement with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, as Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia have done so. That was a missed opportunity.

Trade between Russia and Malaysia amounted to a mere US$3.2 billion in 2024, and Russia’s economy is stagnating. As a result, achieving Anwar’s target of US$10 billion in two-way trade before the end of the decade is pie in the sky.

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