VIENTIANE /Laos/, October 10. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in the Laotian capital city of Vientiane to take part in the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS) due to be held on Friday.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that the EAS is both a mechanism of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a key element of ASEAN-based multilateral dialogue and cooperation in the region. She also said that Lavrov’s program in Laos features "a number of bilateral meetings with his Asian counterparts."
Rich agenda
"ASEAN traditionally focuses the summit agenda on the search for opportunities of strengthening interconnectivity and expanding the association’s cooperative field," Zakharova said.
Security in the Asia Pacific region amid the growing challenges from outside will top the summit’s agenda. "Today, they basically stem from the West’s policy of the militarization of Asia, creating an network of NATO bases in this region, and formic a bloc-based alternative to the ASEAN-centric system of interstate relations resting on the principles of open and equal cooperation. We observe opposite trends - to add destructive and aggressive nature of NATO’s reckless actions," the foreign ministry spokeswoman stressed.
"Russia has always stood for deepening multidimensional applied cooperation with ASEAN. This is the approach that underlies all Russian proposals on the EAS platform," the diplomat pointed out.
According to Zakharova, Russia is ready to cooperate with ASEAN countries in enhancing collective ability to respond to epidemic threats, establishing permanent consultation channels through tourism agencies, as well as strengthening support for volunteerism through the EAS platform. "We are also ready to share the experiences of implementing national programs in the development of remote areas with our partners," she concluded.
Russia-ASEAN partnership
ASEAN, an intergovernmental organization, was set up by five countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, in August 1967. Later, it was joined by Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Russia was granted an ASEAN partner in July 1996. In 2004, it joined the fundamental document regulating relations between ASEAN and its dialogue partners - the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of 1976.
East Asia Summits are held annually and are linked to ASEAN meetings. Russia and the United States have been taking part in East Asia Summits since 2011.