Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appealed for closer business ties between his country and Russia following recent investment here by Malaysia's oil and gas company Petronas.

"The prospect of doing business between Russia and Malaysia... will be good for the future," Abdullah told journalists during a four-day visit to Russia. He said interest in the two countries for bilateral business was "running high."

At a lunch yesterday with Russian business representatives Abdullah said he hoped cooperation would spread beyond the energy sector and would include ties between Malaysian car parts suppliers and the Russian car industry.

Last year the Petronas oil and gas company spent 1.1 billion dollars on a stake in the giant Russian oil company Rosneft, which has ambitions to expand its business in Asia.

At a meeting with Abdullah in the Kremlin earlier President Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of the partnership.

On Wednesday Abdullah also hailed preparations for the first Malaysian astronaut to take off on a Russian Soyuz rocket bound for the International Space Station on Oct 6.

Space programme

He stressed the skills of Malaysian astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, as well as back-up astronaut Faiz Khaleed, who are both undergoing training at Russia's Star City training centre near Moscow and are expected to carry out experiments aboard the space station.

"They're not just anyone picked from the roadside," Abdullah said. "This is a very serious project."

From Moscow Abdullah was to travel to the historic Russian imperial capital of Saint Petersburg with his new wife Jeanne Abdullah, whom he married this month.

Noting her presence, the Vremya Novostei newspaper earlier described the visit as a "continuation of the 67-year-old Abdullah's honeymoon."