Russia is committed to strengthen and deepen its partnership with ASEAN with a view to elevating it to a new height, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Lavrov said Russia is exerting its utmost efforts to implement all decisions and initiatives of the Commemorative Summit in Sochi, Russia in May 2016 to mark the 20th anniversary of ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Relations. Lavrov has conveyed the message during the meeting with the ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh, in conjunction with his visit to the ASEAN Secretariat.
Meanwhile, Minh underscored that ASEAN attaches great importance to its relations with Russia and stressed that ASEAN is committed to working closely with Russia to further strengthen the partnership.
Further, Minh welcomed the accreditation of the first dedicated ambassador to the Russian Federation to ASEAN and the establishment of the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation to ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia, which demonstrate Russia’s strong commitment to ASEAN-Russia ties.
Both Minh and Lavrov recalled that ASEAN-Russia partnership and cooperation has expanded to cover three broad areas namely political and security, economic and socio-cultural cooperation. The substantive outcome of the ASEAN-Russia Ministerial Meeting held on August 6, 2017, in Manila, the Philippines, reflect the commitment of both sides in working closely to further substantiate ASEAN-Russia relations.
They recognised the untapped potentials for economic partnership between ASEAN and Russia. Minh also appreciated Russia’s support for ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture. He conveyed that Russia’s continued active role in key ASEAN-led mechanisms such as ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, ASEAN Regional Forum and East Asia Summit remain crucial for the promotion of peace, stability and security in the region.