Russia-ASEAN Summit in Kazan to Mark 35 Years of Relations

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. The Russia-ASEAN anniversary Summit, to be held in Kazan on June 17-18, is dedicated to the 35th anniversary of their relations, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.

"The summit is dedicated to the 35th anniversary of our country's relations with ASEAN," Ushakov said, noting that the history of these relations began in 1991 during the Soviet Union.

"First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers (of the USSR - TASS) [Yury] Maslyukov was invited to a meeting of ASEAN finance ministers in Kuala Lumpur. After that, the relationship began to develop, and it developed very dynamically and fruitfully. In 1996, Russia became a dialogue partner of the association," the presidential aide said.

He said that in November 2018, at the Singapore summit, a strategic partnership between Russia and ASEAN was proclaimed.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established in 1967, and now it includes 11 countries - Brunei, East Timor, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.

"This is, in fact, one of the important multilateral structures that enjoy prestige not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also in general," Ushakov said.

The ASEAN presidency is changed on an annual basis, in the order of the names of the states in the Latin alphabet.

"And this year, the Philippines chairs the association, and the permanent secretariat of this organization is located in Jakarta," Ushakov said.

ASEAN's full-scale dialogue partners are Australia, China, the United States, India, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Russia, the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom.