Russia Eyes Boosting Ties With Malaysia Further - Envoy

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 (Bernama) -- To further boost bilateral trade and investment in Malaysia, Russia is keen to tap business opportunities in sectors like biotechnology. Outgoing Russian ambassador to Malaysia, Lyudmila G. Vorobyeva said a number of Russian businessmen had shown interest in undertaking fertiliser and biotechnological projects with Malaysian partners. "The prospects for an increase in trade and investment between Russia and Malaysia are good and we hope to go beyond the current limited scope of trading," she said in her farewell interview with the local media here Friday, as she neared the end of her four-year stint in Malaysia next month. It was previously reported that Malaysia-Russia trade for 2012-2013 rose by 66.6 per cent. The envoy also said additional efforts should be done to attract more Russian visitors to Malaysia. On her tenure in Malaysia, Vorobyeva said she appreciated contributions by all parties in promoting friendly relations between Moscow and Kuala Lumpur. She said she had witnessed Malaysia's robust development while based in the country's bustling capital of Kuala Lumpur. She expressed gratitude to the country's leaders and its people for their support and warmth while working in this Southeast Asian nation of 30 million. "We, Russians, always say that beautiful people make the place beautiful and obviously, Malaysia has beautiful people who make the country beautiful," said Vorobyeva. On the Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane which crashed under tragic circumstances in eastern Ukraine on July 17, she said the Malaysian Government's desire to determine what exactly happened to the ill-fated Boeing 777-200ER jetliner was understandable. She hoped those behind the tragedy which left 298 people dead would be identified. -- BERNAMA