On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Head of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Russian Co-Chair of the Joint Russian-Philippine Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation Alexei Gruzdev, First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, and Chairman of the Delovaya Rossiya National Public Organisation Alexei Repik.
The meeting took place at the Galiasgar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theatre in Kazan.
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Beginning of Russian-Philippine talks
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,
Welcome to Kazan, Russia. I believe this is your first visit to our country.
Your country holds the ASEAN Chairmanship this year, and we are especially pleased that during your term of office ASEAN marks the 35th anniversary of our country’s relations with the Association.
This summit represents an important milestone in the development of Russia’s strategic partnership with ASEAN. Tomorrow, we will co-chair the summit’s plenary session and jointly sum up its outcomes at a press conference.
But first, allow me to once again extend my congratulations to you, Mr President, and to the Filipino people on your Independence Day, celebrated on June 12. It is a highly symbolic coincidence that we, in Russia, also mark our national holiday, Russia Day, on the very same date.
This month also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries. In that connection, I recall that during our conversation just now we all remembered the visit of your father, Ferdinand Marcos, to Moscow in 1976, which resulted in the adoption of a joint communiqué establishing interstate ties. I would note that, against the backdrop of the Cold War, this required political will on the part of the Philippine leadership. Such a balanced and pragmatic approach to international relations is certainly no less relevant today.
We approach this milestone, of course, with a solid foundation of mutually beneficial cooperation, built on good traditions, mutual respect, and due regard for each other’s legitimate interests.
Last year, our mutual trade exceeded half a billion dollars – a figure that is by no means the ceiling. There is clear potential to expand supplies of both agricultural products and energy resources, as we briefly touched upon earlier.
Effective mechanisms for practical cooperation are already in place, including the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Today, Mr President, we have an excellent opportunity to take stock of the current state of Russian-Philippine cooperation.
Once again, welcome.
President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand R. Marcos: Thank you very much, Your Excellency, Mr President.
First of all, allow me to convey my gratitude for the warm hospitality that your government and your people have shown to myself and this delegation, and, speaking as Chair of ASEAN, to all of the member states of ASEAN who have come for this very important summit.
As you have mentioned, Mr President, it is a particularly significant time for us to be meeting as this is the 50 years’ celebration of the Philippine-Russian ties. We welcome the efforts of our respective embassies. Since last year, they have spearheaded initiatives that celebrate this milestone – in particular, the photo exhibition that was held in Moscow, the inaugurating display at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
We hope to continue our regular conduct of political consultations between our foreign ministries. They provide a very important opportunity to explore further ways of cooperation.
Once again, speaking as Chair of ASEAN, I personally extend my invitation to Your Excellency to attend the 21st East Asia Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Manila next November. The East Asia Summit remains an integral part in maintaining a regional architecture towards our shared goal of a stable, secure and prosperous region.
On the trade and investment relationship between our two countries, again, I would like to thank you for the hospitality and support that was extended to our delegation at the fourth meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, which was held in Moscow last September. We appreciate the forward-looking exchange on different structural issues that affect the trade between our two countries. As you have mentioned, Your Excellency, there are many potential areas that are still open to explore. I think the present level of trade, although it is steady, I think there is a great deal more that we can do.
We noted that during the JCTEC meeting held in Moscow, energy and food security emerged as mutual priorities for both our countries. That is why the b2b component of the sidelines of the JCTEC enabled the Philippines and Russia to establish networks and to explore joint ventures.
We note that the number of memoranda of understanding that we signed during this activity covered cooperation and innovation, retail products, cosmetics, food processing, and industrial collaboration.
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