25 November 2013 – Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Evan P. Garcia headed the Philippine delegation to the 10th ASEAN-Russia Senior Officials Meeting held in Langkawi, Malaysia from November 21 to 22. The Meeting brought together Senior Officials of the 10 ASEAN member countries and the delegation from Russian Federation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.
ASEAN and Russia held extensive and substantive discussions on cooperation between the 10 ASEAN member states and Russia in the fields of trade and investment, energy, science and technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, disaster management and emergency response, and non-proliferation and disarmament. The Meeting also afforded both ASEAN and Russia the opportunity to review the current Cooperative Partnership Agreement and exchange views on regional and international issues of interest to the region.
Russia and all ASEAN member states expressed their sympathies to the Philippine Government and the Filipino people on the devastating loss of lives and property wrought by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). They reiterated their solidarity to the country’s humanitarian operations and rehabilitation efforts.
Undersecretary Garcia expressed the Philippines’ appreciation for all assistance and support extended by Russia and its ASEAN neighbors, adding that such occurrences highlight the necessity and utility of international and inter-regional cooperation in disaster preparedness and emergency response systems, including early warning systems and capacity-building for disaster management.
The ASEAN Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management or AHA Center, was among the first organizations to respond to the typhoon contingency. They dispatched a team to Tacloban as early as November 07, a day before Haiyan struck Eastern Visayas. ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh had just completed a visit to the Philippines yesterday and met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, officials of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), and other relevant government agencies.
Now on its 10th year, the ASEAN-Russia dialogue is co-Chaired by Russia and an ASEAN member state that also serves as country coordinator for Russia. Malaysia holds the country coordinatorship until 2015. END