Russian Foreign Ministry: Russia's participation in ASEAN security forum will strengthen its positions in Asian-Pacific region

The development of bilateral relations between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, ASEAN, and Russia's participation in the ASEAN regional security forum are important factors for strengthening the country's positions in the Asian-Pacific region.

The opinion was voiced by the Russian foreign ministry's official spokesman Alexander Yakovenko in an interview with RIA Novosti ahead of the postminister conference "ASEAN plus 10" with the participation of Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov.

Russia-ASEAN cooperation may also provide favourable external conditions for the social and economic recovery of the Russian Far East, he said.

When speaking on the agenda of the coming conference, Yakovenko pointed out that it would consider issues of the ASEAN interaction with partners in political, trade and economic spheres.

Collective efforts for counteracting terrorism and transnational crime, as well as neutralization of negative consequences of globalization will also be discussed. Apart from this, the participants will touch upon perspectives of involving ASEAN partners, including Russia, in fulfilling the programmes carried out within the organization's integration mechanisms, such as "Initiatives of ASEAN integration" and "Hanoi plan of action".

The postminister conference "ASEAN-Russia" will focus on key issues for developing the dialog between Russia and the Association both in the political and economic spheres, the foreign ministry said.

ASEAN and Russia have close stands on many topical regional and international problems, a common aspiration for collegial decisions that take into account approaches of all the parties. Russia is interested in playing an active part in fulfilling many of the ASEAN large-scale economic projects, in transport, energy, oil production, science and machine industries. In its turn Moscow believes ASEAN would find Russian experience of developing railway communication networks and research in space technologies useful.

"Russia as a Eurasian power is a direct and interested participant of the life in the Asian-Pacific region, and our interests in Asia are equally important to us as those in the West," Yakovenko stressed. "Complex integration in the economic network of the Pacific is a necessary condition for stable development of Russian Siberian and Fareast regions," he believes.

The Asian-Pacific region has recently received a lot of attention from the world power. The main role in the process belongs to diversified structures, such as the regional security forum, which are able to provide stable security in the region without dividing lines, the Russian diplomat added.