Malaysia has hosted a major economic conference between Russia and Southeast Asian countries

The Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, this week hosted the ‘World of Opportunities: Russia-ASEAN’ business forum, bringing together politicians and business leaders to discuss cooperation between Russia and Southeast Asian countries.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the world’s fifth largest economic bloc, with an average GDP growth rate of 4-5% annually. Its members include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Over the past few years, Russia has been expanding its exports to ASEAN countries beyond energy, to include metals and fertilizers.

One of the largest business events of its kind in Malaysia and the region in recent years, the forum gathered over 350 participants from 24 countries.

Organized by Russia’s Roscongress Foundation, the event marked the first major initiative bringing together key players from Russia and ASEAN, who traveled to Kuala Lumpur to discuss trade and investment strategies.

The forum reflected the growing interest of Russian businesses in ASEAN countries, Roscongress Foundation CEO Alexander Stuglev told RT.

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“Economic relations between Russia and ASEAN, and in particular between Russia and Malaysia, are showing growth. This year’s trade of $3 billion represents an increase of 11% compared to last year,” Stuglev said. He added that such forums contribute to a strengthening of direct business contacts and provide an opportunity to present new projects. 

The discussions at the forum centered on trade and export cooperation, energy, digital transformation, information security, technology, and innovation. They also included topics as tourism, healthcare and medicine as well as educational exchanges, which have long been a bridge between Russia and South East Asia. 

 “Our potential cooperation in different sectors including power, energy, integration with the Eurasian Economic Union, AI, digital technologies, banking and the financial sector – all of these aspects are pillars for further fostering and deepening cooperation between Russia and ASEAN,” Alexey Gruzdev, Russia’s deputy minister of industry and trade, said.

He noted that the potential for cooperation between Russia and ASEAN nations is currently undervalued, and called on participants at the event to have “enough courage” to unlock it.