On the morning of June 18 (local time), Prime Minister Le Minh Hung attended the plenary session of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit marking the 35th anniversary of ASEAN-Russia relations in Kazan, Russian Federation.

Addressing the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the world is undergoing structural changes and noted that ASEAN-Russia relations over the past 35 years have made significant contributions to maintaining peace, stability and development in the region and globally.

President Putin reaffirmed that Russia would continue to participate actively in ASEAN-led mechanisms, including the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM+), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS), while promoting ties between the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and the Russian Parliament.

He stressed the need for both sides to double bilateral trade over the next decade and expand cooperation in counterterrorism, transnational crime prevention, artificial intelligence, science and technology, biosafety, civilian nuclear energy, connectivity and logistics.

ASEAN member states reaffirmed the importance of Russia's role and contributions globally and in the Asia-Pacific region. They welcomed Russia's active participation in ASEAN-led mechanisms and agreed that the ASEAN-Russia Strategic Partnership should play a greater role in contributing to peace, security, stability and development across the region.

In 2025, ASEAN-Russia trade reached nearly US$18 billion, a significant increase compared with the pre-Covid-19 period. Russian tourist arrivals to ASEAN countries reached 3.2 million in 2025, up 27 percent from 2024. Russia is currently an important ASEAN partner in energy, fertilizers and grain, while ASEAN exports electronics, agricultural products, processed foods, textiles and consumer goods to Russia.

ASEAN and Russian leaders agreed to strengthen relations to respond more effectively to emerging challenges and contribute to building a peaceful, stable and development-friendly environment in both regions.

The two sides committed to enhancing high-level dialogue and expanding substantive cooperation in trade, investment, science, technology, education, training, people-to-people exchanges and emerging sectors such as the digital economy, innovation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and maritime cooperation.

Energy was identified as a priority area of cooperation, alongside stronger collaboration in food security and agricultural supply chains. Cultural cooperation will also be intensified to further connect the two regions.

To broaden cooperation, ASEAN and Russia agreed to strengthen links between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), make effective use of existing free trade agreements between the EAEU and both Vietnam and Singapore, deepen ASEAN-SCO cooperation and explore opportunities for engagement with BRICS.

Participating countries emphasized dialogue, cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes based on international law and the United Nations Charter. They called for responsible approaches to peace-related issues, support for multilateralism and continued efforts to promote an open, transparent and resilient regional architecture with ASEAN at its center.

Leaders also underscored the importance of peace, stability, maritime and aviation security and safety, and unimpeded trade in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

ASEAN and Russia also welcomed and highly appreciated the agreement recently reached between the United States and Iran regarding the situation in the Middle East.

Vietnam welcomes US-Iran agreement

Speaking at the summit, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung said Vietnam consistently values its traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia, and supports Russia in playing a greater role in promoting peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world.

Amid increasingly complex and unpredictable global developments, ASEAN and Russia should work proactively together to build a more stable, balanced and sustainable environment, he said.

Vietnam supports the peaceful settlement of disagreements and conflicts on the basis of international law, the United Nations Charter and UNCLOS 1982, while contributing to dialogue and efforts to achieve lasting peaceful solutions.

Vietnam welcomed the agreement between the United States and Iran regarding the Middle East situation and expressed hope that all parties would effectively implement the agreement, paving the way for lasting peace for the benefit of the region and the international community.

The Prime Minister proposed several key directions to advance ASEAN-Russia relations in a more effective and substantive manner.

First, he called for elevating the strategic dimension of the relationship through regular ASEAN-Russia summits, stronger ties between AIPA and the Russian Parliament, and continued promotion of the principles and core values jointly supported by both sides.

Second, he urged more practical cooperation by removing bottlenecks in logistics, market access and payment mechanisms, with the goal of increasing two-way trade to US$45 billion by 2035. He also advocated stronger cooperation in education, training, youth exchanges, culture and tourism.

Third, he emphasized strengthening resilience and self-reliance, particularly by making energy a key pillar of cooperation, establishing priority mechanisms for the supply of fertilizers, animal feed materials and agricultural technologies, and enhancing digital resilience. He also highlighted contributions to implementing the Hanoi Convention on combating cybercrime.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung also announced that Vietnam will host the ASEAN-Russia Young Diplomats Summit in 2027.

At the conclusion of the summit, ASEAN and Russian leaders adopted the Kazan 2026 Declaration, "ASEAN-Russia: Unity in Diversity - 35 Years Together," the ASEAN-Russia Declaration on Energy Cooperation, the ASEAN-Russia Declaration on Cultural Cooperation, and the ASEAN-Russia Work Plan for 2026-2030.

Tran Thuong