🗓 The 18th East Asia Summit (#EAS) will convene in Jakarta on September 7.

🇷🇺 Russia advocates using the EAS platform to expand multi-pronged practical cooperation with a focus on sector-specific projects.

Our initiatives on this platform include efforts:
• to establish regionwide collaboration in pandemic response with the launch of a collective response mechanism to epidemic threats,
• the development of practical cooperation in the field of tourism. Relevant Russian proposals have been part of top-level thematic documents.

⚠️ During the East Asia Summit, Russia considers it critical to highlight the growing risks to peaceful and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region against the backdrop of the West’s confrontational policy aimed at militarising the regional space, with the potential involvement of NATO and the dismantling of the established ASEAN security architecture and replacing all of it with “Indo-Pacific” bloc-based constructs based on containment and counteraction principles.

Russia advocates strengthening the system of country-to-country relations in the region, including by aligning ASEAN with regional formats in the Eurasian space, primarily the #SCO and the #EAEU, which, like ASEAN, operate on a positive non-bloc agenda of connectivity and co-development.

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🗓 On October 12, the ASEAN Centre in MGIMO University held its annual international conference “Russia and ASEAN in the Asia-Pacific Region: Dynamics of Cooperation, Regional Processes, and Global Context” in Moscow 🇷🇺.

🔹️This year the conference was devoted to the 5th Anniversary of the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership. Participants discussed multiple issues relevant to the ASEAN-Russia political, economic and energy cooperation in the context of global turbulence as well as new promising areas for ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership. Cross-platform cooperation between #ASEAN, #EAEU and #SCO was also on the agenda.

🔹️ Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr. Andrey Rudenko, the #EEC Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics H.E. Mr. Sergey Glazyev and Ambassador of the Russian Federation to ASEAN H.E. Mr. Evgeny Zagaynov among others addressed the meeting.

🔹️The conference has been held within the RISA Convention framework since 2016 and annually brings together, leading world and Russian experts on the Southeast Asia and ASEAN, diplomats, representatives of business and civil society, students and young researchers.

@aseancentremgimo

📢 On 14 November 2018 ASEAN-Russia relations were elevated to a Strategic Partnership. In his article "ASEAN-Russia: Strengthening ties and exploring new horizons" Russian Ambassador to ASEAN H.E. Mr. Evgeny Zagaynov 🇷🇺 sums up the progress achieved throughout these 5 years.

💬 The platform of our Strategic Partnership has opened new wider opportunities for developing stronger, deeper and mutually beneficial relations and building a peaceful, stable, prosperous and integrated region. This July, the foreign ministers of ASEAN Member States and Russia noted the significant contribution of the ASEAN-Russia relations to the ASEAN integration and community-building process.

🔹️New avenues of collaboration, such as the Consultations of the High Representatives for Security Issues and Dialogue on ICT Security-Related Issues, have become important channels of communication, facilitating cooperation on contemporary security matters. In 2021, we held the first-ever ASEAN-Russia naval exercise. In 2022, the consultations on tourism were elevated to the ministerial level and earlier this year we convened the inaugural ASEAN-Russia Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation. Russia's expertise in digitalization, robotics, quantum technologies and artificial intelligence was shared with ASEAN partners during the ASEAN-Russia Year of Scientific and Technical Cooperation in 2022.

🔹️Since 2018, Russia has tripled its investment in the region, showcasing the growing economic ties. Collaborative projects in such areas as supply chain resilience, digital economy, sustainable development and creative economy are being carried out.

🔹️Given the growing energy demand in Southeast Asia, there is an immense potential for collaboration in this field, including clean energy technologies, nuclear energy and alternative energy sources.

🔹️We successfully continue to implement various educational and personnel-training projects for ASEAN, nurturing expertise and fostering cultural understanding, including programs for law-enforcement experts, epidemiologists, tour operators and other.

🔻Today is also another important anniversary, five years ago, the Memorandum of Understanding between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Commission was signed. Developing closer economic interaction between #ASEAN and the #EAEU holds potential for a synergy that can contribute to sustainable development in Asia and provides outstanding opportunities for member states of both organizations. To explore and promote them the EAEU Days will be held at the ASEAN Secretariat next week.

🤝In the increasingly troubled world of today with multidimensional challenges to the maintenance of peace and security, the value of long-term friendship that has withstood the test of time is of the utmost significance. In an era where collaboration and understanding are paramount, the tapestry of our ties woven through history serves as a testament to the enduring partnership between Russia and ASEAN nations.

🔗https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2023/11/14/asean-russia-strengthening-ties-and-exploring-new-horizons.html.

🎙Member of the Board (Minister) for Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission Sergey Glaziev:
💬 Cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union (#EAEU) and #ASEAN has seen record double-digit growth rates this year, and is expected to continue further at this impressive rate.

Read the full interview:👇
🔗https://sputnikglobe.com/20231121/switch-to-payments-in-digital-national-currencies-may-accelerate-dedollarization---russian-minister-1115099284.html

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at an extended meeting with the participation of the Foreign Ministers from the Global South and the Global East (June 11, 2024, Nizhny Novgorod)

💬 Welcome to Russia and Nizhny Novgorod, a beautiful city, the beauty of which and the feelings of the residents of which you had the chance to enjoy yesterday.

Today’s meeting reflects the efforts of #BRICS members to develop ties with the stakeholder countries from the Global South and the Global East, the countries of the Global Majority,

in order to identify solutions to the most pressing global issues faced by all members of the international community without exception.

We are witnessing a profound transformation of international relations triggered by the formation of a fairer and polycentric system of international order, which would reflect the entire gamut of cultural and civilisational diversity of the modern-day world and ensure the right of every nation to determine its own future and its own path of development.

The stronger voice of the Global Majority, i.e. the countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, which are not part of the collective West, is a major trend now.

Only by uniting our ranks can we truly effectively promote a vision of a just future shared by all of us. In this context, it is important to strengthen the role of the country-to-country groups that advocate balanced and equitable approaches to international development.

We are talking about the formats which reflect the principles of equitable cooperation in practice rather than in words. These include, along with BRICS, #SCO, #AfricanUnion, #EAEU, #CIS, #ASEAN, #LAS, #CELAC, #GCC, #IORA and many other organisations. The chairs of many of these organisations are here with us.

We believe it is important to establish contacts between all such integration entities which operate at regional levels, on the one hand, and our global association BRICS, on the other hand. This will promote gradual and mutually respectful harmonisation of approaches to the issues facing all associations.

The strengthening the international legal framework and collective decision-making on global issues is now at the forefront. Only in this case will those decisions be effective and legitimate.

This principle is laid down in the UN Charter. Unfortunately, the collective West’s decisions, especially in the economy, finance, trade and more, increasingly fail to comply with the fundamental principles of the UN Charter.

Our countries have largely overlapping approaches to reforming the system of multilateral institutions, including the UN and the UN Security Council, as well as addressing the post-pandemic recovery of the global economy and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals approved by the UN General Assembly.

🤝 We look forward to discussing all these issues today.

🎙 Statement by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the UN Security Council meeting on multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order (New York, July 16, 2024)

💬 The actions of the US and its allies are hindering international cooperation and the creation of a more just world. They have taken countries and regions hostage, prevent nations from realising their sovereign rights declared in the UN Charter

<...>

I am confident that this situation can be changed if there is good will, of course. To stop the implementation of a negative scenario, we would like to propose to discuss a number of steps towards restoring trust and stabilising the international situation.

1. The root causes of the ongoing crisis in Europe should be eliminated once and for all. The conditions for restoring stable peace in Ukraine have been put forth by President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

A political and diplomatic settlement should be complemented with practical steps, to be taken in the West and the Euro-Atlantic community, to remove threats to the Russian Federation. The coordination of mutual guarantees and agreements should be based on the recognition of the new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent, where a continental architecture of really equal and indivisible security is taking shape. Europe risks lagging behind this objective historical process. We are ready to discuss a balance of interests.

2. The restoration of the regional and global balance of forces should be accompanied with active efforts to eliminate injustices in the global economy. There must be no monopoly in monetary and financial regulation, trade and technologies, by definition. <...>

3. Major fundamental changes are necessary in other institutes of global governance if we want them to work to the benefit of all. This primarily concerns the United Nations Organisation, which remains the embodiment of multilateralism against all the odds, with unique and universal legitimacy and universally recognised broad competencies.

An important step towards the restoration of the UN’s effectiveness would be the reconfirmation by all Member States of their commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, not selectively but in their entirety and as a whole. <...>

4. Regional associations have practical significance for the development of multipolarity, including the #CIS, the #CSTO, the #EAEU, #ASEAN, the Gulf Cooperation Council (#GCC), the Arab League, the African Union and #CELAC. <...>.

***

❗️It depends on member countries alone whether our world will be diverse and equitable. The Charter of our Organisation is our foothold.

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🎙 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at a meeting with directors of Russian non-profit organisations (July 23, 2024)

Key talking points:

🔹The role of public diplomacy has grown compared to the earlier period, primarily when it comes to maintaining a healthy atmosphere of confidence in relations with our foreign partners and explaining problems created by the West.

🔹 This applies to the the countries which we regard as unfriendly. I believe that we should use this term for governments, whereas the mood in the countries is largely determined by people’s lives and aspirations. I do not see any nation on the planet that would be unfriendly to our people in the first place.

🔹 I am aware that pubic organisations in Western countries somehow manage to maintain ties with some of their partners in Russia. This interaction is extremely important for keeping up relations at the level of civil societies and trying to understand each other.

🔹 We are beginning to see the outlines of a new multipolar world order. Nations around the world want to see their right to rule their destinies respected, and are searching for new ways of addressing various issues as alternatives to Western solutions.

🔹 The West is not ready to engage in mutually beneficial and equal cooperation. It has been seeking to hold on to its erstwhile standing which follows the path of irreversible, albeit slow, degradation. The NATO Summit in Washington provided yet another example of this process by adopting a declaration which once again emphasised the West’s unilateral approaches.

🔹 Today, Europe has been reduced to acting as Washington’s subject. Germany, for example, is the cornerstone of European politics and economy, but it still had to stomach the terrorist attacks against the Nord Stream pipelines which undermined its economic and social wellbeing. It had to pretend that this is the way it had to be.

🔹 The process of eradicating the centralised dictatorial model that America’s globalisation has morphed into will go hand in hand with regionalisation of economic processes. Preferably, in view of their interdependence with the global economy, the developments in Eurasia, Africa and Latin America ought to be coordinated and harmonised to a certain extent. #BRICS is quite capable of doing that.

🔹 We certainly believe that the United Nations remains a unique platform for universal cooperation that has no alternative. The UN Charter principles are relevant as never before.

🔹 I said earlier that Eurasia is emerging as an independent part of the multipolar and polycentric world. We are moving forward towards creating a Greater Eurasian Partnership, something that President Vladimir Putin mentioned 10 years back.  Since then, this process has led to stronger ties between #EAEU, #SCO, and #ASEAN.

🔹 We trust that non-governmental and non-profit organisations will actively participate in these processes and continue to contribute to the overall efforts seeking to strengthen Russia’s position on the continent and around the world, including the promotion of the Russian language and our multiethnic culture.

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🤝 On September 10, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Secretary-General of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (#IORA) Salman Al Farisi in Moscow.

During their conversation they considered key issues on the IORA agenda as well as promising areas of interaction in terms of further involvement of Russia, which was granted the Dialogue Partner status in 2021, in the association’s practical activity. The Association Secretariat expressed an interest in Russian approaches to the sectoral areas prioritised for this platform: maritime cooperation, tourism, blue economy, fishing and environmental protection.

The minister made an emphasis on the importance of IORA’s applied potential in the context of deepening multilateral cooperation in a broad transcontinental space, involving such systemically important associations as the #SCO, #EAEU and #ASEAN.