KAZAN, June 17. /TASS/. Russia is ready to continue active joint work with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to strengthen the strategic partnership, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
"Russia is ready to continue its active joint work with the ASEAN member states in order to strengthen the strategic partnership that benefits interests of ensuring the security, well-being and prosperity of our countries and peoples, as well as the Eurasian region as a whole," Putin said at a ceremonial reception in Kazan dedicated to the Russia-ASEAN Summit.
A ceremonial reception on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation Putin in honor of the attending heads of delegations is held today at the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theatre.
Besides multilateral discussions, Putin is scheduled to hold a number of bilateral meetings. Some of them will take place today, including meetings with Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah. In addition, the Russian president will meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan later in the evening.
The Kremlin press service earlier reported that on June 17-18, the Russia-ASEAN summit will be held in Kazan, marking the 35th anniversary of relations between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Several documents are expected to be signed at the event, including the Kazan Declaration and the Russia-ASEAN Comprehensive Plan of Action.
This is not the first time Russia has hosted such a summit, as in 2016 the country’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi hosted a similar event marking the 25th anniversary of Russia-ASEAN relations.
The Philippines currently chairs ASEAN, and the previous Russia-ASEAN summit was held in 2021 via videoconference.