Members of the ASEAN-Russia Joint Cooperation Committee and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat attended the meeting (Photo: Nguyen Huu Chien/ VNA)

Ambassador and Head of the Vietnamese Mission to the ASEAN, Tran Duc Binh attended the meeting. ASEAN and Russia praised progress in their partnership cooperation, including an 18% increase in bilateral trade revenue of 19.8 billion dollars in 2018 compared to 2017. Russia considered ASEAN one of its foreign policy priorities and supported the ASEAN central role in maintain regional peace and stability. Russia pledged to support Vietnam’s initiatives and priorities during its ASEAN Chairmanship Year. Both sides agreed to deepen their strategic partnership in various fields and accelerated an early signing of a memorandum of understanding in natural disaster governance this year.