Dear Mr. Co-Chairman,
Dear colleagues,
First of all, before starting my speech, I would like to express my deep condolences to the people. Thailand, the families and loved ones of those killed in the recent terrible fire in Bangkok. We wish all the injured a speedy recovery.
Dear colleagues,
I am glad to meet you again.
First of all, I would like to thank the Philippine Presidency of ASEAN for the warm welcome and excellent organization of our meeting, which is taking place under the auspices of the 35th anniversary of Russia-ASEAN relations.
We are also grateful to Myanmar, as the coordinator of the Russia-ASEAN dialogue, for its efforts to promote strategic partnership in this format. Next year, the coordinating functions will be transferred to Vietnam, and we have no doubt that the progressive development of Russia’s relations with ASEAN will continue.
During a wonderful reception last night and before the meeting this morning, many colleagues and friends from ASEAN recalled the Russia-ASEAN summit, which took place in Kazan just over a month ago, and said that they highly appreciated this summit, which clearly demonstrated the mutual desire of Russia and ASEAN for further rapprochement and strengthening multifaceted cooperation based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit.
The leaders of our countries have reached important agreements in the field of politics and security, combating new threats and challenges, and developing trade, economic, investment, cultural, educational, and humanitarian ties. We see good prospects in ensuring food and energy security, digital transformation, and the platform economy. The four fundamental documents adopted at the Kazan summit set clear guidelines for joint work in all these areas.
Russia firmly believes that ASEAN is our reliable partner and like-minded partner. For our part, we consistently support the central role of ASEAN in all regional affairs, making every possible contribution to strengthening the system of interstate relations built around the Association, based on the principles of international law, openness, equality and, I would like to emphasize, taking into account the interests of all participants. The common understanding of international processes confirmed in Kazan, the commitment expressed by the leaders to the formation of a more just and sustainable multipolar world order, the strengthening of a balanced security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region and, of course, the expansion of comprehensive cooperation on our vast Eurasian continent will be a serious help in our common efforts.
I hope that today’s meeting will serve to strengthen our cooperation in all the mentioned areas, give impetus to the work on the implementation of the agreements of the Kazan Summit and the realization of the large-scale potential of cooperation between Russia and ASEAN.
Thank you for your attention.
Russian Foreign Ministry
