Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar said that the Republic of Tatarstan has great potential for cooperation, and Malaysia is prepared to discuss economic and trade issues, including introducing the Islamic financial system in Kazan and developing the halal industry, to deepen bilateral relations.
"I believe Tatarstan has significant potential and has made many proposals. We are ready to commit to promoting our relationship."
He made these remarks during a meeting with Tatarstan's head Rustam Minnikhanov at the Kremlin in Kazan.
Attendees included Tatarstan's Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Roman, representatives of Tatarstan government departments, and senior executives of major machinery manufacturing companies.
Anwar's delegation members included the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu; Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang, Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad; Minister of Plantation and Commodities Datuk Seri Zuraida Kamaruddin, and Malaysia's Ambassador to Russia Datuk Balakrishnan Mahalingam.
As of 2022, Tatarstan has a population of 3.9 million, encompassing over 70 ethnic groups, with more than half being Muslim.
Rustam: Learning from Malaysia and Adopting Good Practices
Rustam later told the media that Anwar's visit was highly significant and encouraged both sides to more actively advance their work, expressing gratitude for his visit and attendance at the 2025 Kazan Forum.
He noted that the Kazan Forum has become a federal-level event for three consecutive years and is a major platform for cooperation between Russia and Muslim countries.
He also thanked the Malaysian government for its support and emphasized that the republic highly values the cooperative relationship with Malaysia based on the friendship between Russia and Malaysia.
He added that bilateral trade in various fields such as agriculture, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and information technology continues to grow between the two regions.
"Our republic is a pilot region within Russia for implementing Islamic finance and cooperative banking principles, and we are also vigorously developing the halal industry, areas which hold great potential for cooperation.
"Partners from Malaysia have given us tremendous help, and we are also learning from you and adopting your good practices."
In addition, Rustam gifted Anwar an English anthology from Tatar classic literary poet Gabdulla Tukay.
Anwar arrived in Russia on May 13 for an official four-day visit, which will conclude on Friday.