MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will lead the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in the 35th ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit slated for June 17 and 18 in the city of Kazan.
“President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in his capacity as ASEAN Chair will co-chair the summit together with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation. The meeting will bring together the leaders of ASEAN and Russia to commemorate 35 years of dialogue relations and to chart the future direction of this partnership,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Dax Imperial said in pre-departure press briefing in Malacañang.
The summit, the official further noted, also marks Marcos’ first visit to Russian Federation as a sitting Philippine leader. It also coincides with the commemoration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year.
During the summit, leaders of the regional bloc and Putin are expected to review the progress of Asean-Russia strategic partnership and discuss ways to further strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual trust particularly on bio-safety and biosecurity, outer space and satellite applications, energy and food security, science and technology, trade and investment, tourism, education, and people-to-people exchanges.
Apart from the summit, the president is also expected to have a meeting with Putin that will “most likely focus on food security and energy security,”
“They will also discuss among others some very important regional international issues that both would consider important for the relationship. And, again, I would go back to the impact of the Middle East on energy security and food security so I think that would be the highlight of this meeting,” Imperial said.
“We’re also looking at people-to-people exchanges, tourism, education, cultural cooperation, especially also on science and technology. So, these areas will be discussed or will play a part in the bilateral meeting between the two leaders,” he added.
