Lavrov to hold negotiations with foreign ministers of ASEAN countries on July 30-31 - diplomat

MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold negotiations with Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai and other foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during his visit to Bangkok on July 30-31, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. "On July 30-31, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Bangkok where he will hold negotiations with Thailand’s foreign minister. They will discuss the state and prospects of building bilateral cooperation in the political, economic and humanitarian areas with focus on the implementation of high-level agreements, as well as compare their positions on major international and regional problems," she informed. On July 31, Lavrov will also hold a regular meeting with his colleagues from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok. "It will be the first meeting in this format after relations between our country and the ‘Ten’ (10 ASEAN member states - TASS) received the status of strategic partnership at the Russia-ASEAN summit in Singapore in November 2018," the diplomat noted. "The foreign ministers will focus on the implementation of the decisions made at the high level. Our efforts will be targeted at promoting Russia’s long-term interests in the Asia-Pacific region, the consolidation of cooperation with the Association, including on such ASEAN-focused venues as the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum on security, as well as the creation in the Asia-Pacific region of a balanced, equal and up-to-date structure of international, interstate relations." There are plans to analyze the measures on political, trade-economic, socio-cultural and humanitarian issues taken by the sides and coordinate steps on the further extension of cooperation between Russia and the ASEAN countries, Zakharova said. "Among the common priorities are the extension of coordination on key international and regional problems, the galvanization of joint efforts to counter new challenges and threats, including counter-terrorism, and providing security in the use of information-communication technologies," she added. "In practice, it means a focus on cooperation in high-technology and innovation industries, attracting the attention of ASEAN partners to our developments in digital economy and the energy industry and infrastructure development." Zakharova also noted that as part of the implementation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative on the establishment of the greater Eurasian Partnership, the issue of developing ASEAN’s ties with the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be discussed with regard to the similar basic goals and principles of operation of the three organizations. Read more