LAHAD DATU, Sept 12 — As a sovereign and independent nation, Malaysia has the right to determine what is best for itself and its people, including how it establishes diplomatic ties with other countries, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

As such, he said that no party should attempt to put pressure on the country in that aspect as Malaysia aims to maintain good relations with all countries.

The Prime Minister, who recently returned from a working visit to Russia, also said that his meeting with President Vladimir Putin was aimed at strengthening Kuala Lumpur’s relationship with Moscow and encouraging Russia to increase its import of palm oil from Malaysia.

“On my meeting with President Putin, some people questioned why Malaysia would seek to improve relations with Russia, and what America or Europe might think.

“We are a free and independent country, we decide what is best for our nation.

“We should maintain good relations with all countries, but no country should try to pressure us,” he said while launching the ‘Segalanya Felda’ Carnival here today.

Anwar said that countries such as India, China, Egypt, and the Netherlands are among the major importers of Malaysia’s palm oil and that he is working to ensure these countries increase their imports of this commodity.

“We are now asking Russia to increase its imports, which is why we are establishing relations with them. China has agreed to increase its import of palm oil.

“When I met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he also said that India will increase palm oil imports (from Malaysia),” he said.

The Prime Minister said that his visits to these countries also aimed to boost trade and promote Malaysia’s tourism sector and popular destinations such as Sabah, Sarawak, Langkawi, and Penang, which are deemed to be among the places with the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world.

“This is also to attract tourists from Russia, as Malaysia currently records only about 100,000 Russian tourist arrivals compared to Turkiye which records between five to 10 million tourist arrivals annually,” he said. — Bernama