25 November 2013 – Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Evan P. Garcia met on November 21 with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov at the sidelines of the 10^th ASEAN-Russia Senior Officials Meeting held in Langkawi, Malaysia and expressed gratitude for the humanitarian assistance extended by Russia in the wake of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Russia’s donation of relief goods arrived in the Philippines onboard two Ilyushin 76 aircraft on November 14, a few days after the super typhoon struck Eastern Visayas.

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister assured the Philippines that Russia would continue extending disaster relief to the typhoon victims as necessary and proposed that both countries explore further cooperation in the area of disaster management.
 

The Undersecretary and the Deputy Foreign Minister also discussed other areas of cooperation such as aviation, energy, and tourism.

Accompanying the Undersecretary were Teresita V.G. Barsana, Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs, and Paul Cortes of the ASEAN Office. In addition to the Deputy Foregin Minister, the Russian delegation included Ambassador Liudmila Vorobieva, Russian Ambassador to Malaysia; Alexander Ivanov, Ambassador-at-large at the Russian Foreign Ministry; and Andrey Lyamin, Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Department. END