Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited representatives of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-states to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia in 2019.

"I would like to invite official and business circles of these ten countries to come to Russia for the next sessions of these forums in 2019," the Russian leader told the Russia-ASEAN summit. Putin called the participation of the Russian delegation in the ASEAN investment forum in Singapore "useful" and recalled that the ASEAN countries’ businessmen regularly come to Russia.

The Russian leader said he was satisfied by Russia’s cooperation with ASEAN. "Russia pays great attention to developing relations with ASEAN based on mutual respect and taking into account each other’s interests," he said. The president recalled that in 2016 documents were adopted with the goal of "bringing Russia-ASEAN cooperation to the level of strategic partnership."

According to Putin, over the past years the sides have managed to do a lot together. He gave as an example increased political dialogue, the opening of Russia’s mission to ASEAN, coordination on key approaches to the problems of the Asian-Pacific Region and threats to regional stability, strengthening cooperation in the war on terror, drug trafficking and organized crime.

Bilateral economic ties have been consistently developing, the president noted. Last year, Russia-ASEAN trade grew 35%, and the volume of mutual accrued investments exceeds $25 bln, Putin said. The Russian president also praised the implementation of a roadmap of business cooperation, which envisages nearly 60 joint projects.

ASEAN was set up on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok. The organization brings together Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Russia has been ASEAN’s dialogue partner since 1996.

Source:
http://tass.com/economy/1030762