On September 4, the traditional Russia-ASEAN business dialogue was held in Vladivostok as part of the 10th anniversary Eastern Economic Forum, dedicated to strengthening economic ties between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The event was moderated by Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In his welcoming speech, he noted that ASEAN today is one of the most dynamically developing regions with the potential to expand cooperation with Russia. "Today, on the one hand, Russia occupies a very small percentage of the ASEAN countries' foreign trade turnover – less than 1%, on the other hand, there is a huge potential to develop trade and economic relations," Sergey Katyrin noted.

Ivan Polyakov, Chairman of the Russia–ASEAN Business Council, noted several blocks that need to be paid special attention to. He particularly emphasized the importance and necessity of further deepening information exchange in order to stimulate trade and investment, as the business circles of Russia and the ASEAN countries remain poorly informed about the opportunities of our markets. At the same time, Ivan Polyakov pointed out, Russia can offer many high-quality solutions in the digital sphere.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Sholban Kara-ool noted that Russia, as part of the Asian continent, aims to deepen cooperation, which is confirmed by strategic documents and the position of the president.

Kan Zaw, Minister of Finance and Revenue of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, noted the progress in relations between Russia and the ASEAN countries. The Minister emphasized the initiative to work through a multilateral approach, which will facilitate the opportunity to respond to emerging challenges and realize the potential for developing relations.

Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank, also spoke at the meeting, who reported on Sberbank's digital initiatives in the framework of cooperation with ASEAN. He noted that the digital economy of Southeast Asia has already exceeded $200 billion and is projected to reach a trillion dollars by 2030. However, a significant part of this market is based on artificial intelligence solutions, which do not always take into account the national traditions and standards of the countries of the region. In this context, Sberbank offers countries cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence through the International AI Alliance Network and is ready to share technologies, including its GigaChat language model, he said.

Lim Phanphearak, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce of the Kingdom of Cambodia, spoke about the growth of trade, economic and investment relations between the Russian Federation and the countries of the Asian region, noting the increase in trade turnover and at the same time exploring business opportunities in different sectors.

Boris Stupnitsky, President of the Primorsky Chamber of Commerce and Industry, informed the participants of the dialogue about the national program for the socio-economic development of the Far East until 2035, in which the relationship of the Far East region with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and Southeast Asia occupies a special place.

Phongsavanh Sisoulath, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos, noted in his speech that Russia and ASEAN have significant potential for developing relations based on good relations between the countries.

Atip Asvanund, Director of the Digital Council of Thailand, noted the great potential for interaction in the digital environment. "Russia retains digital sovereignty, this is something that many countries around the world can learn from, and the quality of education and high qualifications of Russian workers deserve special attention. He invited Russian companies to enter the Thai market and expressed his willingness to provide support to Russian businesses in this matter.

German Maslov, Deputy General Director for the Linear Logistics Division of PJSC DVMP (FESCO), spoke in his speech about the development of logistics routes, the creation of a hub in Vietnam and the attractiveness of the Far East from the point of view of logistics.

Elina Sidorenko, CEO of the NGO Platform for Dealing with Entrepreneurs' Appeals and a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, stressed in her speech the need to adopt long-term systemic projects in the field of payments development. She spoke about the demand for Russian cyber projects in the ASEAN countries, including in the field of business cybersecurity, about the possibilities of developing urbanization, smart cities and public services through digitalization.

Irina Bakhtina, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the National Alliance for Sustainable Development, Deputy Director General for Sustainable Development of En+ and Director for Sustainable Development of UC RUSAL, spoke about the opportunities for developing relations in the field of sustainable development, trade in green products and the potential of unified green benchmarks for the carbon footprint.

Nikita Kondratiev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, informed the participants of the dialogue that a draft strategic plan for the development of Russia-ASEAN relations until 2035 is currently under active development.

During the event, the participants discussed the prospects for trade and economic cooperation and considered joint strategies for deepening cooperation in key areas such as energy, transport, new technologies and the digital economy.