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ASEAN countries support closer dialogue with Russia

According to the Russian embassy in Indonesia, Russia’s mission to ASEAN will be opened on August 9 in Jakarta, which headquarters the association

MANILA, August 6. /TASS/. Countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, support further strengthening of dialogue partnership with Russia, according to the Joint Communique of the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila released on Sunday.

"We welcomed Russia’s ongoing efforts to establish its dedicated diplomatic Mission to ASEAN with a dedicated Ambassador to ASEAN this year, which demonstrates its desire to elevate Russia’s engagement with ASEAN to greater heights," the document says.

According to the Russian embassy in Indonesia, Russia’s mission to ASEAN will be opened on August 9 in Jakarta, which headquarters the association.

The communiques also says that the ASEAM foreign ministers plan to "to further strengthen our cooperation in countering terrorism and combating violent extremism."

Dialogue between Russia and ASEAN was launched at a ministerial meeting in 1991. Russia received a full-fledged dialogue partner status in July 1996. In 2016, Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi hosted a Russia-ASEAN summit that was attended by the leaders of the ASEAN nations (Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines).

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