This affirmation was made during the 17th ASEAN – Russia Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), which was held virtually on January 26 and was co-chaired by Russia and Indonesia, two co-ordinators of ties between the bloc and the Eastern European country.

The delegation put forward the suggestion that Russia strive to deeply engage in and make further positive contributions to ASEAN-led co-operation mechanisms. This could involve contributions to common efforts to build trust, whilst upholding international law to create an environment of peace, security, and stability, especially in the face of current challenges.

In the near future, the nation suggested that Russia continue assist the bloc in mitigating the adverse impacts caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, along with propelling sustainable growth forward.
The country is therefore fully supportive of Russia’s wide participation in ASEAN and regional co-operation, the Vietnamese delegation said while affirming their willingness to work alongside Russia and ASEAN members to ramp up substantive and mutually beneficial ties. This can be done as a means of upgrading the bilateral strategic partnership.

During the event, ASEAN and Russia concurred that both sides will soon complete their draft comprehensive action plan for the 2021 to 2025 period, therefore laying an important foundation for bilateral ties moving into a new period. Indeed, moving forward there will be a focus on priority fields such as the fight against terrorism and trans-national crime, trade, digital economy, science and technology, smart city development, energy, disaster management, and people-to-people exchange.

Both sides agreed to consider establishing dialogue mechanisms to talk about security and issues relating to information technology security.

Amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two parties vowed to work closely together in order to effectively cope with the pandemic, including realising the East Asia Summit Leaders’ Statement on Strengthening Collective Capacity in Epidemics Prevention and Response.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov used the online event to affirm that, as a strategic partner of ASEAN, Russia is ready to partner with the bloc to combat the pandemic and mitigate socio-economic tolls.

Furthermore, he praised ASEAN’s efforts to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and expressed a desire to foster closer ties between the Eurasian Economic Union and ASEAN in the near future, thereby contributing to carrying forward multilateral trade and regional connectivity.