Russia Keen to Strengthen Kota Kinabalu-Vladivostok Ties

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah,Malaysia), May 25 (Bernama) -- The consulate of the Russian Federation in Malaysia is keen to see strengthening of the relations between Kota Kinabalu and Vladivostok in Russia. Honorary Consul Teoh Seng Lee, who called on Kota Kinabalu mayor Abidin Madingkir here on Friday, said he was especially keen to promote education in Russia to the people of Sabah. On his recent visit to Vladivostok in February this year, Teoh said he was surprised but happy to note that Vladivostok is actually the sister city of Kota Kinabalu, which led to his visit to City Hall here. According to Teoh, this is actually an excellent opportunity to highlight to Malaysians, especially to the people of Sabah, that the Russian Government has the capability to enhance tertiary education with the creation of new federal universities, with the latest entity established in Vladivostok in 2010. The university, he said, offers many programmes, such as Oil and Gas Engineering and Applied Geology, which can contribute to the progress of Malaysia. Noting that the sister city relations between Kota Kinabalu and Vladivostok were established in 2010, Teoh said Abidin should consider visiting Vladivostok to strengthen relations between the two cities. Teoh, who is based in Penang, also mooted the idea of setting up an office in Kota Kinabalu soon for the benefit of both cities. -- BERNAMA