Business Council Chairman: ASEAN Focused on Russian Energy Supplies, Hi-Tech Cooperation is Possible

The Eastern Economic Forum has become a key platform for discussing pressing issues involving cooperation between Russia’s Far Eastern regions and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an effort to improve the welfare of the population in the member countries.

Speaking with Sputnik on the sidelines of the 7th Eastern Economic Forum, Ivan Polyakov, Chairman of Russia–ASEAN Business Council, has praised the input of ASEAN members, mentioning a large Myanmar delegation attending the forum, and the Russia-ASEAN session in particular.

Sputnik: What are the main business areas where Russia and ASEAN countries cooperate today?

Ivan Polyakov: Cooperation between Russia and ASEAN is developing in a full-fledged mode, if I may say so. And, of course, our energy sector is no exception. Because, as you know very well, Russia is the largest supplier of energy resources to the world market and ASEAN is no exception in this sense. ASEAN countries show great interest in liquefied natural gas from the Russian Federation, supplies from the Russian Federation, Russian crude oil, petroleum products, and coal.

We very much hope that in addition to the development of traditional sectors of our cooperation, we will also see rapid development of the high-tech sector and cooperation in high-tech fields such as electronics, mechanical engineering, high technology and telecommunications. We believe there is potential for rapid development of cooperation in both directions. We mean not only cooperation in the form of Russian exports to ASEAN, but also ASEAN exports to Russia.

Sputnik: Given the remoteness of the ASEAN countries from Russia, are there any problems with logistics or maybe some other problems that you would like to address now?

Ivan Polyakov: Logistics problems are now universal in the world we are living in, if I may put it that way. That is, there is no need to talk about regional specifics, because it is all linked to the existing or previously formed infrastructure, including the infrastructure for financing insurance, for example, of transportation. Therefore, of course, this area is experiencing certain difficulties today and the level of our relations in trade and investment will of course depend on whether we will be able to find answers to the relevant questions.

Sputnik: It is now the year of scientific and technical cooperation with ASEAN, involving more than 50 events, which ones have already taken place? What else are you looking forward to? What are the successes?

Ivan Polyakov: Indeed, this year was declared the year of scientific and technical cooperation. In fact, the program of events is far from complete. The responsible federal executive body with the Russian Federation is the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and we are working very closely with them. There are all kinds of events and meetings, dialogue between research centers, universities – by the way, between the largest universities in the ASEAN countries and the Russian Federation. It is premature to draw any conclusions. I think there will be some. In any case, in our opinion, the expansion of contacts, the intensification of contacts, provide an important foundation that will allow us to count on a serious deepening of our relations in the scientific and technical fields.

Sputnik: The forum has dedicated a separate session to cooperation between Russia and ASEAN. I see that there is a large delegation from Myanmar. Who else do you expect? Who do you plan to have contacts with here?

Ivan Polyakov: Our friends from Myanmar are the main guests at this year's Eastern Economic Forum, because essentially the entire Cabinet of Ministers came here to Vladivostok, so we have a big agenda and numerous planned events. In our opinion, Myanmar, itself as a state, has great potential for cooperation in various fields with the Russian Federation and the Eurasian Economic Union. We will develop our relationships, we will communicate, we will negotiate and look for points of growth. The potential is enormous.