Russia Ambassador to ASEAN Alexander Ivanov. (Photo: asean.mid.ru)
Jakarta (VNA) – Russia Ambassador to ASEAN AlexanderIvanov has highlighted the role of Vietnam as the Chair of ASEAN this yearfollowing the success of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetingslast week, saying it was not easy for the Southeast Asian country to fulfill its chairmanshipduties.
The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the preparation andorganisation of ASEAN’s relevant meetings and events, with some even postponedfor the next year. Despite all challenges, Russia continued its fruitfulcooperation with ASEAN as a driving force of the Asia-Pacific, Ivanov told theVietnam News Agency correspondent in Jakarta.
The ASEAN-Russia cooperation has made good progress thisyear in all directions of the bilateral strategic partnership, he said.
The diplomat recalled the ASEAN-Russia Special Ministerial Meeting onCOVID-19 on June 17 where the ministers agreed to exchange information andexperience, and to work together on vaccine and many other issues. The two sidesdecided to enhance communication and interaction between ASEAN member states and Russian agencies responsible for prevention and control of infectiousdiseases.
Russia will also continue its training courses for ASEANspecialists at the International Research Center for the Study of Bio-safetyand Human Well-Being in the Asia-Pacific region in Vladivostok in 2021 and2022, the ambassador noted.
He further said that together with ASEAN partners, Russiahas been working on modalities for the consultations of High Representatives for Security Issues and preparing to launch a joint Dialogue onICT Security. “These new platforms will contribute to close coordination incombating new challenges ASEAN and Russia are facing,” the ambassador stressed.
ASEAN and Russia have also paid huge attention to economicrecovery, he continued. This topic was in focus during the ASEAN-RussiaEconomic Ministers Meeting and the Special Seminar for joint response to thecoronavirus outbreak in September.
A number of joint projects under the ASEAN-Russia DialoguePartnership Financial Fund have been launched in agriculture, smart cities andhealth. In December, Russia will host an ASEAN-Russia Conference on sustainableand resilient urban technologies, he said.
He unveiled that the two sides are planning to convene anonline meeting of the Network of ASEAN-Russia Think Tanks, where their expertsdiscuss the future of the regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific after thepandemic, as well as cooperation in such important areas as disastermanagement, countering-terrorism and economic recovery./.
