Putin at Singapore Summit VERY Optimistic About Growing Russian Involvement in SE Asia!

Today, Vladimir Putin is taking part in the Russia-ASEAN summit in Singapore. The traditional photoshoot took place before the meeting.

Today, Vladimir Putin is taking part in the Russia-ASEAN summit in Singapore. The traditional photoshoot took place before the meeting. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations includes ten countries of the region. Russia started to engage in the dialogue over 20 years ago. Over the last year, Russia's trade with the ASEAN countries increased by more than a third. The previous forum was hosted by Russia in 2016. Security issues are expected to be the focus of the current summit.

Today, Vladimir Putin held a speech at the opening ceremony.

 

Vladimir Putin: "Russia pays much attention to the development of relations with ASEAN based on mutual respect and consideration for each other’s interests. At the May 2016 summit in Sochi, we adopted a declaration and an action plan aimed at taking cooperation between Russia and ASEAN to the strategic partnership level. Over the past two years, we have accomplished much together. Political dialogue has intensified. Russia’s permanent mission to ASEAN was established in Jakarta last year. We're coordinating our approaches to key issues on the Asia-Pacific agenda to the challenges and threats to regional stability and are enhancing joint efforts to fight terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime. Economic relations are evolving steadily. In 2017, Russia's trade with ASEAN increased by 35%. Mutual accumulated investment exceeds $25 billion".

In Singapore, Vladimir Putin will have a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts. Before the beginning of the summit, he already met with the prime minister of Thailand. They were discussing the increase of trade and the flow of tourists. Vladimir Putin noted that last year, Russia citizens brought more than $2 billion to the Thai economy.