🗓 Every year on August 8, the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (#ASEAN) mark ASEAN Day. This date was approved by the ASEAN Standing Committee at its annual meeting in May 2005.

🌏 ASEAN was founded in Bangkok on August 8, 1967, by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines, which signed the so-called Bangkok Declaration. Later, this regional organisation was joined by Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos and Myanmar (1997), and Cambodia (1999).

ASEAN is one of the most successful regional organisations. It has a broad network of various intergovernmental associations involving Russia and other leading world powers: the East Asia Summit (#EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (#ARF), and ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (#ADMMPlus).

☝️ Promoting ties with ASEAN is Russia’s key foreign policy priority in Asia. The Russian Permanent Mission to ASEAN has been based in Jakarta since 2017. In 2018, Russia-ASEAN relations reached the level of strategic partnership, resulting in closer coordination on current global and regional issues with the ten member countries at leading multilateral venues, including the UN.

🤝 On July 26 and 27, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended annual ministerial events held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Vientiane. He took part in Foreign Ministers’ meetings in the Russia-ASEAN format, as well as within the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

💬 President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-ASEAN Summit (October 28, 2021): "Strengthening ties with ASEAN and its member states has always been and remains one of Russia's foreign policy priorities. <...> I would like to point out that the positions of Russia and the ASEAN states on key global and regional matters are similar in many respects. Most importantly, we all support the expansion of equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in the vast Asia-Pacific space."

#RussiaASEAN

🇮🇩 On August 17, Indonesia marks the 79th Anniversary of Independence.

The Republic of Indonesia was declared in 1945, putting an end to the period of foreign domination that began in the 16th century, when Portugal, Britain, Netherlands and Japan successively sought to take control of the legendary Spice Islands.

🤝 Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Indonesia were established on February 3, 1950. The USSR played an important role in the rise of the new state, providing the archipelago with broad political and economic support.

🇷🇺🇮🇩 Russian-Indonesian ties have always relied on respect and trust. The accumulated potential for mutually beneficial cooperation is evidence of a true partnership between the two countries.

Today, our relations continue to evolve progressively. Moscow and Jakarta maintain an intensive political dialogue, including at the top level. The ministries, parliaments, as well as companies and corporations on both sides have channels for regular interaction. Extensive humanitarian cooperation contributes to strengthening the atmosphere of friendship between the people in our countries.

💬 President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin (July 31, 2024): "Russia and Indonesia share a long-standing friendship that began decades ago. Next year, we will mark 75 years of diplomatic relations between our countries"

🎉 We extend greetings to our Indonesian friends on their national holiday. We wish them peace, prosperity and all the very best!

#RussiaIndonesia

✍️ Article 'BRICS and ASEAN: Focus on Food Security and Global Cooperation' by the Ambassador of Russia to Singapore Nikolay Kudashev (August 27, 2024)

🗓 The ASEAN+BRICS Roundtable on Sustainable Trade for Global Food Security, hosted by the Diplomatic Network (Asia) on August 14, 2024, underscored the increasing focus within Southeast Asia and Singapore on fostering collaboration with #BRICS states and their institutional frameworks.

The deliberations centered on refining global governance and sustainable trade practices to enhance and safeguard food security, ensuring the fulfillment of the fundamental human right to adequate nutrition in the contemporary world.

The roundtable convened prominent business leaders alongside ambassadors from BRICS and ASEAN member states, engaging in three interactive panels dedicated to formulating global strategies for sustainable trade and food security.

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The event, the Russian Embassy in Singapore took part in, emphasized the pivotal role that BRICS nations play in fortifying food security and ensuring the resilience of supply chains. These countries possess more than 30% of the world’s agricultural land and occupy a prominent position in the global agricultural market, thanks to the diverse environmental, demographic, and socio-economic conditions within their borders, which foster a wide range of agricultural products.

In 2022, Russia initiated the adoption of the BRICS Strategy on Food Security Cooperation. Looking ahead, BRICS anticipates the implementation of a new four-year plan for Agricultural Cooperation under Brazil’s chairmanship in the coming year. Additionally, Russia has proposed the establishment of a grain trading platform within BRICS — the BRICS Grain Exchange — as a critical mechanism for bolstering food security.

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The foundation of BRICS cooperation is built on principles of equality, mutual respect, openness, and the pursuit of a balanced alignment of interests.

The cooperation within BRICS is anchored on three primary pillars:

• policy and security,
• economy and finance,
• people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

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📈 BRICS countries now constitute 45% of the world’s population (3.6 billion people), account for over 40% of global oil production, and generate approximately a quarter of the world’s goods exports.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s estimates from last year, the combined GDP of the five founding BRICS nations reached $58.9 trillion, representing 33% of global GDP. This figure surpasses the GDP of the G7 by $5 trillion, as the G7 accounts for only 30% of the global GDP.

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As of January 1, 2024, Russia, having prioritized BRICS cooperation within its long-term foreign policy framework, assumed the BRICS chairmanship under the banner of “Strengthening Multilateralism for Equitable Global Development and Security.” This approach aligns with Russia’s fundamental national interests and complements its strategic objective of fostering a fair multipolar world order, while ensuring equitable opportunities for all nations to develop.

🇷🇺 In the context of the Russian chairmanship, over 200 events of varying scales and formats are scheduled across multiple cities in Russia.

The BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Nizhny Novgorod in June 2024 addressed a broad spectrum of issues, ranging from trade, economic development, and climate change to contemporary geopolitical conflicts, including those in the Middle East, Africa, and concerns in Afghanistan and Haiti.

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The BRICS Summit, scheduled to take place in Kazan on October 22-24, will serve as the cornerstone event of Russia’s BRICS presidency. We anticipate that representatives from all nations interested in advancing cooperation within BRICS will accord significant attention to this summit. Undoubtedly, it is poised to make a substantial contribution to the discourse on addressing the challenges and threats of our time, while also devising collective solutions to global issues and development objectives.

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#BRICS2024