OREANDA-NEWS. July 23, 2008. The annual meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the Russian Federation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations took place in Singapore on July 23, dedicated to questions of deepening the Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the Russian delegation at the meeting.

Meeting participants discussed the current state of the Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership, and outlined ways for its further development. A roadmap was approved for implementing the Russia-ASEAN Comprehensive Program of Action to Promote Cooperation to 2015. This document defines the concrete measures directed at reinforcing our ties, in particular, in such fields as energy and energy security, science and technology, disaster management, and tourism.

The ministers of the member states of the Association welcomed Russia’s allocation of another 500000 US dollars contribution to the Russia-ASEAN Dialogue Partnership Financial Fund. The sides noted that the realization of mutually advantageous Fund-led joint projects is an important component of the substantive filling of dialogue relations.

Russia and the ASEAN nations have reaffirmed their disposition to deepen and develop cooperation, designed to become a noticeable factor of regional interaction in the AP region.