MOSCOW: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, visited Tochka Kipeniya, a technology and innovation centre in Moscow, as part of his state visit to Russia.

Upon arrival, His Majesty was received by Dmitry Peskov, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, and Alexey Ponomarev, Senior Vice-President of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Tech­nology (Skoltech).

Accompanying the King were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who is also Minister-in-Attendance, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, and Malaysian ambassador to Russia Datuk Cheong Loon Lai.

During the hour-long visit, Sultan Ibrahim toured an exhibition showcasing Russian drone technology, where Peskov briefed His Majesty on various technological development initiatives, Bernama reported.

The exhibition also featured a wide array of drones designed for diverse applications, highlighting Russia’s growing capabilities in the unmanned aerial systems sector.

Sultan Ibrahim then visited Kazan for the second segment of his state visit to Russia.

The special plane carrying Sultan Ibrahim touched down at the Kazan International Airport at 10.15am yesterday.

Present to welcome His Majesty was the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minni­khanov.

Tatarstan Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Oleg Korobchenko and Russian ambassador to Malaysia Nail Latypov were in attendance.

In a traditional welcoming gesture, three girls in Tatar national costume presented His Majesty with bread and chak-chak – a traditional Tatar dessert.

Earlier yesterday, Sultan Ibrahim was accorded a ceremonial sending-off ceremony at the Vnukovo-2 Airport in Moscow.

Sultan Ibrahim is in Russia for a state visit at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.