These ties are deeply rooted in history: official contacts and exchanges developed already in the 19^th century with the memorable visit of the Crown Prince Nicholas (the future Emperor Nicholas II) to Siam in 1891 being one of them. In the 20^th century, the key features of the policy toward the states of Southeast Asia consisted of unconditional support for their pursuit of independence, as well as for their efforts to build statehood, economy and industry.

Throughout all these years, our commitment to fostering friendship with the peoples of Southeast Asia has been firm and sincere. At present, the platform of our Strategic Partnership has opened new wider opportunities for developing stronger, deeper and mutually beneficial relations and building a peaceful, stable, prosperous and integrated region.

This July, foreign ministers of ASEAN member states and Russia, while reviewing the achievements of the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership made over the past five years, noted the significant contribution of the ASEAN-Russia relations to the ASEAN integration and community-building process across the three spheres of political-security, economic and socio-cultural, as well as outlining a comprehensive framework for future cooperation.

It covers a wide range of areas, including enhancing regional food security, disaster management, environmental and climate cooperation, energy security and sustainability.

We have been successfully working together under the Comprehensive Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership for 2021-2025. New avenues of collaboration, such as the Consultations of the High Representatives for Security Issues and Dialogue on Information and Communication Technology Security-Related Issues, have become important channels of communication, facilitating cooperation on contemporary security matters.

In 2021, we held the first-ever ASEAN-Russia naval exercise. In 2022, the consultations on tourism were elevated to the ministerial level and earlier this year we convened the inaugural ASEAN-Russia Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation.

Since 2018, Russia has tripled its investment in the region, showcasing the growing economic ties. Collaborative projects in such areas as supply chain resilience, digital economy, sustainable development and creative economy are being carried out. Our country has traditionally been a responsible supplier of agricultural products and fertilizers to Asia.

Given the growing energy demand in Southeast Asia, which is estimated to increase by 50 percent by 2050, there is an immense potential for collaboration in this field, including clean energy technologies, nuclear energy and alternative energy sources.

Just last month the executive director of the ASEAN Centre for Energy participated in the Sixth Russian Energy Week, which provided another opportunity to discuss the transition scenarios in ASEAN and our further cooperation. In August, an education program for ASEAN specialists in energy was launched at the St. Petersburg State Economic University.

Russia's expertise in digitalization, robotics, quantum technologies and artificial intelligence has been shared with ASEAN partners during the ASEAN-Russia Year of Scientific and Technical Cooperation in 2022, and we are ready to do so in the future. Last October the "Smart City: Russia-ASEAN Digital Space" conference in St. Petersburg brought together officials and experts from Russia and ASEAN member states, emphasizing our shared commitment to innovative urban development.

Education, tourism, culture and people-to-people contacts remain pivotal areas of our joint work. The number of scholarships for students from Southeast Asia has been increased. Of special relevance for the present brief review is the master’s program “Political Economics of the Russia-ASEAN Strategic Partnership”.

We successfully continue to implement various personnel-training projects for ASEAN hosted by MGIMO University in Moscow, nurturing expertise and fostering cultural understanding, including programs for law-enforcement experts, epidemiologists, tour operators and other.

The Russian private sector has shown growing interest in Southeast Asia. The Russia-ASEAN Business Council promotes business-to-business contacts with the counterparts from ASEAN member states. To foster them the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation opened its regional office for Southeast Asia in Jakarta in 2021.

The ASEAN-Russia Business Dialogue and the ASEAN- Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Business Dialogue are held annually on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum and the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Russia is actively engaged in the processes of cross-platform cooperation with ASEAN.

Today is also another important anniversary, five years ago, the memorandum of understanding between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Commission was signed. The EAEU is a steadily developing integration organization embracing Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia with a joint gross domestic product of more than US$2.5 trillion. It is among the world’s top three producers of oil, gas, fertilizers, wheat and livestock products.

Developing closer economic interaction between ASEAN and the EAEU holds potential for a synergy that can contribute to sustainable development in Asia and provides outstanding opportunities for member states of both organizations. To explore and promote them EAEU Days will be held at the ASEAN Secretariat next week.

In the increasingly troubled world of today with multidimensional  challenges to the maintenance of peace and security, the value of long-term friendship that has withstood the test of time is of the utmost significance. In an era where collaboration and understanding are paramount, the tapestry of our ties woven through history serves as a testament to the enduring partnership between Russia and ASEAN nations.

As we look at the five years of ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership, it is evident that the strong foundation laid in the past and the comprehensive framework set for the future reflect our shared commitment to mutual progress and prosperity. Together, we are poised to reach further heights and continue to contribute to the development of our countries.

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The writer is Russian ambassador to ASEAN.