KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Malaysia and Russia have cemented an agreement to set up a Joint Malaysia-Russia Commission for Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (ESTC).

The ESTC agreement provides for a bilateral mechanism to further enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

Russian Economic Development First Deputy Minister Elexei Likhachev signed the agreement on behalf of Russia, while Malaysia was represented by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev witnessed the signing ceremony early today on the sidelines of the 27^th Asean summit and Related Summits here.

Earlier, both leaders held a closed-door bilateral meeting, which lasted nearly 30 minutes, on matters of mutual interest.

Prior to that, Malaysia hosted a gala dinner, honouring the presence of top Asean leaders and international leaders from the US, Russia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, South Korea and Australia.

Medvedev, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, arrived in the capital yesterday.

Malaysia and Russia have been pushing for the realisation of the ESTC agreement since Anifah’s working visit to Russia in July 2013. — Bernama