Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov meets Sultan of the Malaysian state of Johor Ibrahim Ismail

On September 18, during his working visit to Malaysia, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov had official meetings with Minister of International Trade and Investment of the State of Johor Jimmy Poa and the Sultan of Johor Ibrahim Ismail.  

During his meeting with Jimmy Poa,  Minnikhanov expressed his gratitude for the hospitality and noted the importance of high-level contacts between Russia and Malaysia, which are maintained on a regular basis: "Malaysia is Russia's reliable trading partner. We are grateful to the leaders of our countries for their attention paid to the creation of favorable conditions for expanding interregional cooperation. At its level, Tatarstan is ready to contribute to the development of business ties."

The discussion of issues related to the development of mutual cooperation continued during the official meeting between Tatarstan President and the Sultan of the State of Johor Ibrahim Ismail.

"The state of Johor is one of the largest regions of Malaysia in terms of economic potential and has a progressive economic structure. It is the leader in attracting investments and features developed branches of industry such as petrochemistry, rubber processing, chemical, electronic, light and food sectors. In this regard, the State of Johor and Tatarstan are in many respects similar to each other," Minnikhanov stressed. “It would be interesting to us to develop closer ties with Johor. In 2013, I visited the state and the Iskandar economic development zone. A lot of positive changes have taken place there since then. We are also actively developing special economic zones and are happy to visit the Iskandar once again to outline possible projects," he added.

Tatarstan President informed the Sultan of Johor that business circles of Malaysia annually take an active part in the International Economic Summit "Russia - Islamic world: KazanSummit". Minnikhanov continued that on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he heads the Russia - the Islamic World Strategic Vision Group, which includes more than 50 experts from 32 countries. Professor of the Malaysian University of Science and Technology Ahmad Fauzi bin Abdul Hamid represents Malaysian in the Group, he added. 

Summing up the meeting, Minnikhanov invited the delegation of the State of Johor to attend the 11th Kazansammit, which is scheduled for April 2019. He also invited the Sultan to visit the republic at any time convenient to him. "I am sure Tatarstan and Johor have good prospects for cooperation. We need to work more intensively on the implementation of joint projects. In conclusion, I would like to once again thank you for hospitality and invite you to visit Tatarstan at any time convenient to you."