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ASEAN-Russian Federation: Unity in Diversity – 35 Years Together

ASEAN-Russian Federation: Unity in Diversity – 35 Years Together

The Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Russian Federation, gathered in Kazan, the Russian Federation, on 18 June 2026 (“Kazan Summit”) to commemorate the 35th Anniversary of ASEAN-Russian Federation Relations.

The event recognized notable achievements since the establishment of relations between ASEAN and the Russian Federation in 1991 across a wide range of areas, including political dialogue and security, trade and economic cooperation, science, information and communication technologies, energy and transport, agriculture and food security, tourism, cultural cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

The president of Russia Vladimir Putin took part in the anniversary plenary sessions of the Russia – Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, marking 35 years since the establishment of their relations.

The agenda for the meeting in Kazan includes a review of the strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and ASEAN, as well as new avenues for collaboration on the political, economic and humanitarian tracks, and an exchange of views on the latest international and regional developments.

ASEAN includes 11 Southeast Asian countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Russia has been ASEAN’s full-scale dialogue partner since July 1996.

Taking part in the summit are Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Manet, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia Sugiono, Prime Minister of Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim, Presidential Special Representative and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar hau Khan Sum, President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Xanana Gusmão, and Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Le Minh Hung. Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Nurlan Yermekbayev, and Chair of the Eurasian Economic Commission’s (EEC) Board Bakytzhan Sagintayev are also taking part in the summit.

As Vladimir Putin noted, Russia–ASEAN cooperation rests on strong bonds of friendship and mutual assistance, as well as the accumulated positive experience of partnership.

"Tens of thousands of students from Southeast Asia have graduated from our higher education institutions. The knowledge and professional qualifications they acquired—as engineers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, economists, and many other specialists—have brought and continue to bring tangible benefits to the citizens of your countries. Today, Russia and ASEAN states are jointly working to develop and build upon the fine traditions of mutually beneficial cooperation and to deepen their partnership ties," the Russian President said.
During the event Vladimir Putin held talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The meeting was attended by Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, who serves as Co-Chair of the Russia–Malaysia Intergovernmental Commission. He reviewed the outcomes achieved across key areas of cooperation during the first six months of this year.

In higher education and science, inter-university contacts are expanding, facilitated by a number of major events held on the sidelines of the 4th Intergovernmental Commission meeting on Langkawi Island last November. Areas of mutual scientific interest for the two countries include energy, nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, subsurface resource management, biotechnology, and genetics. These and other topics were discussed this April during the third meeting of the Working Group on Education, Science, and Technology. It is worth recalling that the previous meeting was held in May 2025, when Vladimir Putin noted that the Intergovernmental Commission is operating at a steady pace, with priority given to developing trade, investment, and academic cooperation.

The President of Russia also held talks with the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Hassanal Bolkiah.

On the state of Russia–Brunei humanitarian cooperation:

  • expanding inter-university dialogue currently plays a key role in the partnership;
  • work is ongoing on joint documents, specifically an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of qualifications and a Memorandum of Understanding in science and higher education.

The Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia Konstantin Mogilevsky held a working meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan on the sidelines of the Summit at Kazan Federal University. The parties discussed expanding cooperation in science, technology, and innovation.

Note: The 2026 has been declared the Russia–Vietnam Cross-Year of Cooperation in Science and Education, featuring a packed agenda of events. In addition, Vietnam has been invited to be the guest country at the 6th Congress of Young Scientists, which will take place in late November at the Sirius federal territory of Russia.

Read more at the ASEAN Secretariat's Portal and the Portal of the President of Russia.

Photo: Alexander Shcherbak, TASS
2026-06-17 21:08 Asia Offline Governmental Bodies Achievements Partnerships