saying it was not easy for the Southeast Asian country to fulfil its duties.

Russian Ambassador to ASEAN Alexander Ivanov

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the organisation of ASEAN meetings and events, with some even postponed for next year. Despite all the challenges, Russia continued its fruitful co-operation with ASEAN as a driving force of the Asia-Pacific, Ivanov told the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Jakarta.

ASEAN-Russia co-operation has made good progress this year in all directions of the bilateral strategic partnership, he said.

The diplomat recalled the ASEAN-Russia Special Ministerial Meeting on COVID-19 on June 17 where the ministers agreed to exchange information and experience and to work together on a vaccine and many other issues. The two sides decided to enhance communication and interaction between ASEAN member states and Russian agencies responsible for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. 

Russia will also continue its training courses for ASEAN specialists at the International Research Center for the Study of Bio-safety and Human Well-Being in the Asia-Pacific region in Vladivostok in 2021 and 2022, the ambassador noted.

He added that together with ASEAN partners, Russia has been working on modalities for the consultations of High Representatives for Security Issues and preparing to launch a joint Dialogue on ICT Security.

“These new platforms will contribute to close co-ordination in combating new challenges ASEAN and Russia are facing,” the ambassador said.

ASEAN and Russia have also paid attention to economic recovery, he said. This topic was in focus during the ASEAN-Russia Economic Ministers Meeting and the Special Seminar for a joint response to the coronavirus outbreak in September. 

A number of joint projects under the ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Partnership Financial Fund have been launched in agriculture, smart cities and health. In December, Russia will host an ASEAN-Russia Conference on sustainable and resilient urban technologies, he said.

He said the two sides are planning to convene an online meeting of the Network of ASEAN-Russia Think Tanks, where their experts will discuss the future of the regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific after the pandemic, as well as co-operation in such areas as disaster management, countering terrorism and economic recovery.

RCEP Secretariat

Hoo Ke Ping, a Malaysian economic and political analyst, said the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership at the end of the ASEAN Summit was an important milestone.

To accelerate the process of ratification and implementation of the RCEP, the Malaysian expert advised member countries to create an RCEP secretariat and locate its headquarters in Vietnam. 

Evaluating Vietnam's 2020 ASEAN Chair, Professor Hoo Ke Ping said Vietnam had taken over the rotating ASEAN chairmanship in a year with many fluctuations and challenges, including the COVID-19 outbreak and tensions international trade. 

"However, the country has taken on this role successfully and no one doubts it," he said.  VNS

Vietnam, Russia boost bilateral defence cooperation

Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh had an online discussion on July 3 with his Russian counterpart Sen. Lieut. Gen. A.V. Fomin, 

Defence cooperation – pillar of Vietnam-Russia relations

Developing the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia is a top priority of Vietnam, with defence cooperation as a pillar of the bilateral relationship, Vietnamese Minister of National Defence Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich said.