Russia’s primary day during the high-profile Russia-ASEAN summit was held in the city of Kazan recently. The event is the first official event of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Moscow.
The summit was attended by the leaders and foreign delegations to review their long-term strategic cooperation. It also marked a blueprint for new cooperative agenda in regional politics, trade, global security and humanitarian activities.
Strategic Agreements and Multilateral Cooperation
The principal day of the summit began at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Center with an opening session co-chaired by the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The delegation leaders used this first floor to discuss their views on key international and regional issues.
The first multilateral meeting ended with the signing of four key basic documents:
The Kazan Declaration: A common declaration on the methods of application of international law, the UN Charter and the development of democratic multipolar world order.
The 2026-2030 Comprehensive Action Plan: A plan of action that features concrete measures aimed at greater concrete energy cooperation, digital technology, trade, agriculture and science. .
Sectoral Statements: Bilateral Statements which are approved and enacted to address the need for greater integration in the culture and energy sectors.
After the first session, delegates switched to a more focused working breakfast on regional integration processes in Eurasia. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev and Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board Bakytzhan Sagintayev made high-level contributions in this session.
In this private meeting the leaders discussed an economic brief on results of the Russia-ASEAN Business Forum. During the session, the heads of state had opportunities for informal and spontaneous discussions of the economic supply chain and regional market stability.
As well as the larger multilateral platforms, the summit also had a very busy agenda of bilateral diplomatic talks. President Putin had bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Vietnam, East Timor, Cambodia, Singapore, and Thailand, to strengthen local economic cooperation.
The meetings were organized as a follow-up to consultations with Brunei and Malaysia’s leaders and the Turkish Foreign Minister, which took place earlier this week. The Russian summit for this milestone anniversary is the second to be hosted in the country after the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the same event in Sochi in 2016.
