The annual summit meeting between Russia and the 11 nations of ASEAN was held in Kazan, Russia on June 18. The Kremlin site explained that “ASEAN includes 11 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Russia has been ASEAN’s full-scale dialogue partner since July 1996.” This year’s summit issued a Kazan Declaration, a Comprehensive Plan of Action for Russia–ASEAN, a Joint Statement on Cultural Cooperation, and a Joint Statement on Energy Cooperation.
In his opening remarks at the summit, Putin began by emphasizing that Russia and ASEAN are “building a system of cooperation between states founded on universally recognized norms of international law and mutual respect for each other’s interests.” In a reporting back to the press after the meeting, Putin stressed that the Kazan Declaration, which was adopted following the summit, “reaffirms our shared commitment to building a just and democratic multipolar world order based on the universally recognized principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”
On economic cooperation, including “expanding mutual capital investment,” Putin said that “to deliver on this vision, businesses must switch to national currencies in their financial transactions. We must remove the remaining trade barriers and streamline administrative procedures. All our countries have the potential to achieve this. It is a matter of diversifying our business ties. Russia is ready to increase exports of high value-added products to ASEAN countries, including fertilizer and medicinal products. Of course, we remain committed to supplying our Asian friends with food products and energy resources, which have been enjoying so much demand.” He included Rosatom’s work to help develop nuclear energy as another major point of cooperation.
