Russia has been a full dialogue partner of ASEAN  since 1996.  ASEAN and Russia Foreign Ministers  meet annually at  the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference Plus One (ASEAN PMC+1) held during the annual AMM/PMC/ARF. This year, the ASEAN PMC + 1 will be held on 01 August 2007.

Political and Security Cooperation

ASEAN and Russia signed a Joint Declaration on Partnership for Peace,  Security, Prosperity and Development in Asia Pacific at the PMC+1 session with Russia on 19 June 2003 in Phnom Penh.  The signing set the right momentum and tone for ASEAN and Russia to further strengthen political, security, economic and functional cooperation in the coming years.  Russia has also acceded to ASEAN’s  Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in 2004. Russia, being the second  Nuclear Weapon State and UN Security Council member to sign the TAC after China, gives weight to the TAC as the code of conduct for inter-state relations in the region.

ASEAN-Russia political and security cooperation is expected to strengthen given the convergence in interest in ensuring a peaceful region to pursue economic development and to combat the menace of terrorism and transnational crimes. Under the ASEAN-Russia Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Combating International terrorism, Russia proposed  to establish ASEAN-Russia Joint Working Groups on terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, money laundering and legal cooperation in prosecuting transnational crime.
Economic Cooperation
ASEAN’s trade with Russia, while remaining low, has shown a positive upswing in recent years. Total trade for 2004 amounted to USD3.431 billion and increased to USD 4.703 billion in 2005 skewed in favor of Russia. Russia’s exports to ASEAN consist of iron and steel, mineral fuels and oils, fertilizer and aluminium while ASEAN exports to Russia include electric  machinery, equipment and parts, animal or vegetable fats  and oils and articles of iron or steel. 

Both sides are also developing an economic agreement to boost trade and other related cooperation. With a population of 150 million and being a key member of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia stands as an important emerging market for ASEAN in the future.

The ASEAN-Russia Economic Development Cooperation Agreement, which was signed by the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and the Russian Federation on 10 December 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, spells out the principles and aims of economic and development cooperation between ASEAN and the Russian Federation, specifies steps to be taken to promote greater economic interaction

between both sides, and enumerates other areas of expanded cooperation, i.e. in small and medium enterprises, science and technology, energy, mineral resources utilization, transport, information and communication technologies, human resources development, environmental management and protection, tourism, sports, and culture. The Agreement also has a specific provision on the protection of intellectual property rights, particularly those obtained as a result of cooperation under the Agreement. Specific activities and programmes for these areas of cooperation are incorporated in the Comprehensive Programme of Action 2005-2010. 

Functional Cooperation

ASEAN and Russia remain keen in pursuing cooperation in the fields of science and technology, tourism, culture and people-to-people contacts.  Both sides are looking at developing a work programme to move forward cooperation in a substantive manner after the economic cooperation agreement was concluded in 2005.

The 3rd Meeting of the ASEAN-Russia Working Group on Science and Technology was held in Moscow, Russia on 10 July 2007 and reviewed the status of implementation under the ASEAN-Russia Science and Technology Cooperation covering joint projects like biotechnology, alternative energy sources, microelectronics and the like.   

The Philippines will host the 7th ASEAN Science and Technology Week, a flagship project of the ASEAN Committee on Science and Technology (COST) to showcase major achievements and potentials of S&T generated both in ASEAN Countries and Dialogue Partners, relevant to the rapidly increasing needs of the public and private sectors and in the light of the region’s goal of achieving a knowledge-based economy.  The ASTW will comprise of an ASEAN S&T Exhibition and Technical Conferences

The 1st ASEAN-Russia Consultation on Cultural Cooperation was held on 7 December 2005 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The meeting agreed that ASEAN and Russia could cooperate in the fields of training in cultural dance, drama, small and medium sized cultural enterprises and the creation of data bases and networking.